Journey to the West
by darknessslayer0
Summary: The Soul Society is in trouble after Aizen's rebellion and the war with the Arrancar. With few captains left to keep the balance, the only option is to out source help from American forces. FINAL CHAPTER now up!
1. The Mission!

Author notes: This fic takes place after the Arrancar War and Aizen rebellion. The point of view switches between several characters and there will be a few OCs in here, so prepare yourself for all the random switching that may happen because I might not remember to put the point of view in here. Also there maybe some "adult situations" in here so if you don't like reading that kind of stuff, get out of my story because I don't like those kind of reviews. Also I would like to add that my word processor isn't working as well as I would like so if my chapters look kind of weird, thats why. Also, the omake will be making a return in a few chapters.

**Chapter 1: The Mission!**

Shuhei sighed as he stared at the clock. The meeting would start soon; where were the other captains and lieutenants? Sitting and staring he sighed again as he though to himself, "Why am I waiting here? I could be doing the paper work that I've been putting off; I could even be training. Where is everyone? The meeting is going to start in about five minutes." Just as he was getting ready to leave, all the missing bodies pilled in soon followed by Head Captain.

Yamamoto slowly walked to the end of the room with all eyes on him. He was slowly making his way and you could practically hear the scuffles of his footsteps on the crimson carpet. He arrived at what seemed to be an alter. There was a golden phoenix in a small box with golden drapes surrounding it. There was a single step at the alter in which he stepped on and turned around, it seemed this step gave him some height, a symbolic way that showed his power. He cleared his throat with a few coughs before he started to speak,

"Over these past few months the Soul Society have undergone some harsh times. No one needs to be reminded of Aizen's rebellion and the recent war with the Arrancar."

"Aizen's rebellion, huh. That's what took Captain Tosen from me," Shuhei thought when Yamamoto mentioned it.

"These past few months really took a toll on us; we have lost a few captains and lieutenants and most of our current soul reapers aren't as skilled as we would like them to be to fill these positions. That is why I am not going to be making promotions for those of you who were prepared to ask," Yamamoto continued.

"What are you trying to say Head Captain?" asked an uninterested Byakuya trying to move the conversation along so they can get out of the meeting faster. Shuhei noticed that Renji wasn't at his side, but shrugged it off as him being in the world of the living, again. After all, he has been going a lot more lately along with his childhood friend Rukia. It makes you wonder what exactly they are up to. Speaking of which, why doesn't anybody care that they are gone so often?

"Well, the only quick fix solution is to out-source powerful soul reapers to help keep things running smoothly," Yamamoto answered answered in a deep, depressed sighed. "Normally I wouldn't be taking the easy way out, but it's the only choice we have that could keep our unbalanced forces from becoming too unstable during these troubled times."

"What, other soul reapers are out there besides that punk Ichigo?" asked Kenpachi, even more bored then Byakuya and his faced even showed it.

"No Captain Zaraki; we will be getting our soul reapers from across the ocean. I have heard there was another society similar to ours across the ocean and passed the Grand Line." Yamamoto answered. Everyone's eyes widened with shock; all along they though they were the only soul society in the world, then again they were kind of stuck in the past and the countries across the ocean are kind of new.

"As I was saying before, we will be out-sourcing from the west. I will only send a few lieutenants to try to convince a few of them to come over and help our cause. I have carefully thought about which ones to send," Yamamoto started to explain.

"Are you sure you should be sending a few lieutenants instead of a captain or two?" Toshiro asked.

"No, we need as many captains as we can to help restore and keep order in the soul society which is why I am sending Shuhei Hisagi, Renji Abarai, and even though she is not a lieutenant, she is just as powerful: Rukia Kuchiki." Yamamoto finished his explanation as the room stayed silent because they knew they couldn't change his mind. "Lt. Hisagi, I need you to gather up a few things and head to the world of the living. I need you to get in touch with Lt. Abarai and Ms. Kuchiki and inform them of the mission. After you make contact, the three of you need to head across the ocean. The only way you can do that is in the world of the living. Did you get all that son?"

"Yes sir," Shuhei said proudly as he was glad he finally got a good mission.

"Well, go then my son, every minute counts!"

"Sir!" With that said, Shuhei flash stepped out of the meeting and went back to his quarters. He didn't care that he left the meeting in the middle of it, he was just happy he got an outlet from all the paper work and repairs he had to do in the Soul Society. The only problem is, he knew he should have stayed and probably asked for a few more details.

It took Shuhei about half an hour to get things ready for his trip to the world of the living. Ever since the war was over, going through the gate and acquiring hell butterflies was quite a difficult task and took about a week of planning at least. "Things should go back to normal soon," was what was told to everyone but even that was still being working on. Anyways, Shuhei headed off to the gate with a hell butterfly with him and just waited for the OK so he can go through. He leaned against a tree and waited patiently, but as he waited words from Rukia popped into his head.

"If you're ever in the world of the living, the first thing you should do is go to the Urahara shop, he should be able to help you with whatever you need," Rukia's voice echoed through his head. He let out a contended sigh as the gates began to open; he didn't have much time to go through the gates because the person who normally opens them was killed during the war and the new guy didn't know quite how to do it yet. Once in, he practically flash stepped his way through until he reached the end. He slowed his pace and walked out, not knowing that the gate was in the air and the fall would cause him some minor injuries. Sure he could float, but that's only if he knew it was waiting for him. (Actually I never understood that myself. How are they able to float and fight in midair? Where do they think they are? In the Dragon Ball Z series?) Luckily for him, he was quite skilled and landed on the ground with ease.

"When I get back, there will be some serious ass kicking that needs to be done!" he thought as he watched the gate close about a hundred feet in the air. He looked around at his surrounding in a calm manner. This brought back some memories from his many battles, but he never really did get a chance to look at the beauty of this town. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crudely drawn map Ruika made him pointing the location of Urahara's shop. The map itself was just a pice of paper folded into fours with a lot of line and a star that pointed at the location of the shop. There were no street names or landmark locations, which would have probably been helpful, since after all, it's supposed to be a map. About what seemed like hours he finally arrived after getting lost a few dozen times. He knocked on the door. No answer. He let himself in and apologized for being rude, still there was no one to be seen. He slowly walked to what seemed like the living/dining room area and saw Urahara sitting at the table with tea in front of him.

"Who the hell do you think you are letting yourself in like that?" He questioned in a rude manner, looking straight at the wall and not paying much attention to Shuhei.

"I'm sorry, sir; there was no answer at the door and I just want to see if anyone was here," Shuhei quickly answered as if caught off guard by this question.

"I merely jest, I know why you're here," he laughed.

"Really, but," Shuhei began before being cut off.

"Sure, you needed help from the great Urahara," he continued to laugh.

"Kind of, yeah," Shuhei softly answered.

"Please take a seat at the table," Urahara offered as his light-hearted tone turned serious. Shuhei sat down in front of Urahara and stared down at the table, "Please tell me why you came to my humble little shop," Urahara told is an asking way.

"Well you see..." Shuhei explained his mission in great detail with Urahara nodding at what seemed like the right times to nod.

"Well then, you're gonna need a gigai," Urahara told Shuhei as he looked in fear.

"Hell no! I don't want one, not after what you did to Rukia!" Shuhei shouted in a bit of frustration and think back to how it sucked out her power and stopped her from getting it back.

"Relax, that was a special gigai, and believe me, that's not going to happen again," Urahara reassured him in a calming manner. The two of them got up and went to a secret room where Urahara kept all his spiritual stuff. He handed what seemed like a huge doll to Shuhei and told him to "get in". Shuhei, a bit hesitant got in and the gigai transformed. It turned into him but without the scar, tattoo, and dark streak on his face, the neck band and arm tattoo stayed on him, he got tight leather black pants, black combat boots, and blue muscle shirt with 69 in white letters on it and a black vest on top of that. Shuhei studied himself in the mirror and although he didn't like the tightness of the clothes, he did like how they looked on him.

"Where the hell is my tattoo?" Shuhei asked in a fury once he noticed it was gone.

"You don't want that on your face here kid, besides it looks better on your shirt," Urahara answered him.

"Why not? All it is, is the district of the Soul Society that I come from," Shuhei asked confused and curious.

"It has a different meaning here," Urahara giggled. Yes he giggled, what grown men can't giggle at the innocent of the youth? Sure, Shuhei is way past a hundred, but right now, he appears to be sixteen in the human world.

"What does it mean, and why did you giggle?" Shuhei questioned as he was even more confused and more curious then ever.

"If you're looking for Rukia and Renji, they are probably hanging around with Ichigo. Why don't you ask Ichigo and his friends help you while you're at it?" Urahara said completely ignoring Shuhei's last round of questions.

"Well that does sound like a plan," Shuhei said to himself as he left Urahara's shop, still wondering the meaning of "69" really was.

Preview for the next chapter:

Shuhei's out on the town looking all over the place for Ichigo and friends. Will he find him, or will the wonders of the human world take him by surprise? Stay tuned and find out.


	2. School Dazed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, if I did, things would be different. Also please review, because every time you review, an angle gets their wings, an orphan gets adopted, and the mob gets called off.

Chapter 2: School Daze!

Shuhei took another look at Rukia's map: besides the location of Urahara's shop, there was also Ichigo's school and house on there as well, which he somehow missed the many times that he looked at the map. Shuhei started at it with a blank stare and tried to figure out where to go first.

"Ichigo's house or Ichigo's school?" He pondered as he stroked his chin. He closed his eyes as in deep thought and then heard a loud, screeching, honking noise. His eyes widened as he saw some gigantic, red box (it's actually a truck but he doesn't know that, well not yet) coming towards him. He tried to flash step out of the way but realized he was in his gigai and didn't have his "important" soul reaper powers at the moment he needed them most. It took a moment to for him to regain his composer and jumped to the side before the truck hit him.

"That was close," Shuhei sighed as he saw several trucks pass by him as he realized that this was going to be harder then he thought. He sat on a nearby bench and stuck his forehead into his palm and started to think. How was he going to find Rukia and Renji without getting killed? Will he be able to make to Ichigo's school by using Ruika's map? He let out a deep sigh, and realized that he has been sighing all day.

"Today is not my day," he thought to himself as he removed his hand from his face and looked at the map again. Then he noticed something that just popped out at him and practically hit him in the eye: she included several of the street names and luckily for him, the school was only a few streets over. The raven-head didn't know why he didn't see them at first, then realized that Rukia is not the best artist in the world, and her street names looks like actual streets themselves. With that in mind, he got up from the bench and began to run towards the school. The people who were walking on the sidewalks were staring at him like he was crazy, or he running away from the cops. An old man even yelled "Slow down young whippersnapper!" at him. He didn't care, Rukia and Renji were within his grasp, and this mission would be able to start right away. After all, this was his one chance to prove that he is able to handle more important missions.

As soon as he got to the school, or what he thought was the school, considering he was still somewhat lost, he started looked around. Some how, he had gotten lost, which he found strange because he only had to walk past a few streets to reach the school. Once again, he let out a deep sigh, this was going to be more trouble then he originally thought. Then out of the blue an idea so obvious came to him, he wondered why he didn't think of it before. Renji and Rukia always say that Ichigo can hide his spiritual pressure, and Urahara said that where ever Ichigo was, the others were bound to be, so why couldn't he just track down Ichigo via his spiritual pressure? With that in mind he ran to a near by tree to make sure he was out of the way of any impending accidents, like the truck that almost ran him over. The spiky head closed his eyes and started to focus; as he tried to find the spiritual pressure that belonged to Ichigo. He met Ichigo only once and knew that he alone rivaled any captain, so he tried to find the strongest. He felt a few pressures, and for a few minutes couldn't find Ichigo's, which was weird because there is no one besides Ichigo who couldn't hide their spiritual pressure. That fact only made him try harder. He put more focus in his concentration and then finally locked on.

"Gotcha!" He shouted and started to follow what seemed to be a trail of spirit energy leading to Ichigo.

He ran for what seemed like a couple of hours but actually was only a few minutes with his speed. He jumped on or over any obstacle that got in his way, fences, cars, mail boxes, even buildings, nothing was a match for him. He arrived at the school and stopped to look around. It was huge compared to most of the buildings he had passed by, but then again it was a small town. He shook his head and told himself that there is no time for sightseeing and he must inform them of the mission right away. He started to run again and just busted into the school. He passed many students in the hall that started at him in shock. He went up a flight of stairs still following Ichigo's spiritual pressure and arrived at their classroom.

"HEY RENJI! RUKIA! WE HAVE A MISSION!" he shouted and he slid the door open forcefully. When the door opened, everyone in the class room was staring at him. Rukia, Renji, Ichigo, Chad, Uryu, and Orihime had the biggest expression of shock on their face. I don't blame them, after all I would be freaked out if some stranger came bursting into my class room shouting weird nonsense.

"Excuse me sir," the teacher started, "I don't want to know, or even care what this mission is, but can it wait after class?"

"But, it's of the utmost importance," Shuhei argued.

"I don't care, it can wait until class is out," the teacher argued back and forced him to back off enough so she can close and slam the door.

"Bitch," he thought loudly in his head, which wasn't normal for him to cuss, and leaned against the wall right next to the door and waited for them. A few hours have passed by and he just stood there waiting; this was nothing considering all the training he had for situations like this. Well he wouldn't go as far as training as experience since he did this a lot with all the captains. He crossed his arms and started to beat his fingers against his arm and started to get impatient. He knew that he didn't have much authority in his gigai, and didn't know much about this world to make up anything to get them out of there faster. Then he saw it, the bright red temptress. He stared at the fire alarm, unguarded, and the switch just screamed: pull me, pull me! Right next to it was a sign that read, "Pull for emergency."

He thought deeply about this, does his mission really count as an emergency in this world? Sure it was important, but not enough to pull the switch, was it? He sighed again and pulled the switch. An ear-piercing alarm rang and he quickly fled the hall before anyone knew it was him; meanwhile all the students began to pill out following the standard "fire safety" drill. Once outside he waited in an open area hoping that the others will go to him; it wasn't that long of a wait considering they got there moments after he did. _Shuhei, you felon._

"What the hell was that for?" Ichigo asked as he was getting ready to punch Shuhei.

"Hey it's a really important mission that we have to start right away!" Shuhei shouted at him.

"What the hell kind of a mission is it?" Renji asked frustrated like he was rudely awakened from a nap.

"Renji play nice," Rukia said, "He got us out of class didn't he?" As soon as she said that everyone sighed in relief and nodded in agreement. Sure he should have done things differently, but they are happy to be out of class.

"So what kind of mission is this?" Renji asked again rubbing the back of his head.

"Out-sourcing," Shuhei quickly answered.

"Out-sourcing? Care to elaborate?" Rukia asked with everyone listening intently on the conversation.

"Well Head Captain Yamamoto wants us to get new captains for the soul society," he half-assly explained.

"I see," mumbled Uryu.

"So does that mean y'all are gonna get Ichigo to be one of them?" Orihime asked innocently.

"No, that's just a bad idea," Chad pointed out.

"Then what the hell are they gonna do?" Asked Ichigo, getting furious.

"Well they are paying for everything so we can go across the ocean to America to recruit a few of them there," Shuhei answered fully this time, making sure he didn't leave anything out.

"Wow that is something," Renji said shocked at the part of all expensive paid.

"One thing though," Rukia was starting to ask, "How are we going to convince them?"

"Not too sure of that yet," Shuhei began as Ichigo grabbed him by the shirt.

"What the hell are you saying?" Ichigo asked, Shuhei figured he was in a bad mood today.

"Calm down Ichigo," Chad spoke as Ichigo released Shuhei.

"The soul society also said that they didn't know how our soul reapers powers are going to work over there, but theirs do work over here," he added as he looked to the ground. Everyone blankly stared at him.

"Well, that sure is a surprise," Renji said shaking his head, "but I guess we don't have a choice."

"There's no way in hell that I'm going," Ichigo growled.

"Oh you're not going, well you can go. The mission is just for Rukia, Renji, and me, but you and your friends are invited to help," Shuhei added to his explanation. Everyone continued to stare at him until Orihime's face lit up.

"Well, we can always ask them nicely to help us, I mean the worst they can say is no," she innocently added. All attention turned at her. They wanted to argue that with her, but knew she was right, but another problem aroused, how will they know what American soul reapers look like, and how similar and different they would be?

"So Ichigo, would you and your friends be joining us on this mission," Shuhei asked trying to take advantage of the moment.

"Sure why not? We're always up for adventure, besides summer break starts at the end of the school day anyways," Ichigo told Shuhei and everyone nodded in agreement. Sure he knew not everyone was going to go, which they weren't, but he was happy for the extra help he may receive. Yet, one thing still troubled him, how much danger would this mission bring?

Chapter 3 preview:

So Shuhei found Rukia and Renji, and even had Ichigo to help him. What troubles lie with this mission, what will America bring them, how will they get there?


	3. The Fun Part!

Author's note: When I originally wrote this chapter, which was about a few months ago (after all, this is the second time I am writing this because I took t down to work on it and improve it), I had to memorize the monologue I used in the chapter so I typed it in here. It really worked, and I don't think I am going to remove it.

Chapter 3: Getting To America Will Be The Fun Part!

After the "fire drill" was over, everyone headed back to the classroom. Shuhei went with them, after all he had nothing else to do (and add the fact that he nearly got killed, got lost two times, and didn't really know much about this strange world), so he got to sit in on the class. The teacher tried to put him in a uniform so he'll "fit in" more, but considering there was only a few hours left of school before the break, she gave up on the idea. He sat in the back of the room watching her teach, but wasn't really paying much attention to her, as he was trying to figure out how this mission will really work out. He was deep in his thoughts when the teacher called on him, even though he wasn't part of the class.

"Mr. Hisagi is it?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," he replied in a respectful tone.

"Can you please recite Hamlet's monologue for us?" she asked and put him on the spot. (Even in Japan they study Shakespeare, except they do it earlier in their school time than we do.)

"Yes of course," he said and looked around the room.

"That is great, please recite it for us," the teacher said with happiness in her voice, which he probably figured she was excited that he was doing it because no one has been active during the time he has been in there.

"To be or not to be: or not to be, that is the question," he started and all eyes were on him. He casually looked around until he noticed the person sitting in front of him had his book open to the monologue he had to recite. He glanced down in an unnoticeable manner and cleared his voice. He could tell that the class was actually paying attention to him to see if he would mess it up or not.

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer," he continued, even though he had no idea what this Hamlet guy was saying, "The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? To die: to sleep: no more; and by a sleep we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished," he continued and took a deep breath, still reading off the book and the classroom unaware of it he continued yet again, "To die; to sleep; to sleep; perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause; there's the respect that makes calamity of so long life; for who would bear the whips and scorn of time, the oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, the pangs of despited love, the law's delay, the insolence of office and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin? Who would fardels, bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to other that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; and thus e native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, and enterprises of great pitch and moment with this regard thier currents turn awry, and lose the name of action. -soft you now!" (Sorry, I know I didn't have to put this, but I have to remember this for theater and writing it really helps you remember). Shuhei finished and everyone in the classroom clapped, even the teacher who was shocked that even a "delinquent" as she called him knew a little about the classic. The bell rung and everyone left the room in a hurry trying to get a jump start on their break. The group decided to go out for burgers and plan how they were going to do this mission.

"Wow, that is something they don't teach you in the Soul Reaper Academy," Rukia commented as they were walking to the burger place.

"That's because he is a fucking cheater!" Renji said trying to get his two-cents worth in.

"As much as I hate to, I agree with Renji," Uryu sighed.

"How did you manage to cheat?" Ichigo ask, pondering on how he did it.

"Was it some sort of special soul reaper power?" Orihime asked just as confused as Ichigo was.

"Nah, if it was, Rukia and I would be able to do it," Renji answered her.

"Well I know I would, not too sure about you," Rukia giggled as Renji glared at her.

"Actually it was quite simple," Shuhei said looking at Renji.

"How?" Chad asked.

"Well the person sitting in front of me had the book open and I just read off of that," Shuhei confessed.

"That's impossible," Uryu gasped, "I was watching you the whole time, your eyes didn't even glance down once!" Shuhei just smiled as everyone looked shocked. How did he manage to read something below him without glancing down? They continued down the sidewalk simply chatting about school related matters, Ichigo stayed unusually quite and Shuhei was lost, not knowing what everyone else was talking about,

When they arrived at the burger place, they took a booth in the back, considering the size of the group, you'd think that one person wouldn't make much of a seating arrangement difference, but it did. After they placed their order, and their food arrived they started to discuss several different ways of getting to America.

"We could go by boat," Orihime suggested.

"That would take too long," Uryu said shooting down her idea.

"The only other way is by plane, and that is expensive," Ichigo mentioned.

"Well we are going to fly there," Shuhei said as he took a bite into his burger.

"What? How?" Rukia asked eagerly.

"This burger is amazing," Shuhei boasted, completely ignoring her question.

"Answer her damnit!" Renji shouted knocking the burger out of his hands.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Shuhei asked in a calm anger.

"You're too busy stuffing your face while were trying to think of ways to get to America!" Renji answered getting louder and getting even angrier.

"Would the both of you please shut the hell up, I'm trying to think!" Ichigo yelled even louder the Renji.

"Everyone, shut up!" Rukia yelled trying to make her voice heard. Despite how loud they were being, somehow, they didn't draw any attention to themselves. Several loud, angry minutes later, everyone settled down and the conversation picked back up where it had previous left off.

"As Rukia was saying, what do you mean the soul society has that covered?" Orhime asked.

"Well they have secret soul reapers who live in this world to learn the ways of the humans," Shuhei began before getting cut off by Rukia.

"I've never heard of it," Rukia commented.

"Yeah, that the craziest thing I have ever heard," Ichigo backed her up on it.

"I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it, that is one of the things that only Captains and their lieutenants can know about," Renji explained to her.

"Well, those'"human reapers,' as they are known by, are providing us a ride over to America," Shuhei finished.

"So that means all we have to do is pack a few of our things and we'll be on our way?" Uryu asked.

"I believe so, yes," Shuhei answered.

"Interesting," Chad said just to be heard. (I don't like Chad being to quiet so he gets little tidbits of dialogue so you don't forget he is there.) With all that was needed to be said about the mission said and done, the conversation, if you can call it that shifted back to angry yelling between Rukia, Renji, and Ichigo. It seemed to Shuhei that their friends really didn't mind the yelling, yet, they rather enjoyed it.

"Is it always this lively?" Shuhei whispered to Orihime.

"Yes, don't you just love it," she giggled and Shuhei sighed, "its going to be a fun trip to America," he thought to himself as he watch Rukia, Renji, and Ichigo throw food across the table at each other.

They gang left after paying the check, and cleaning the mess they made, Shuhei with his good ethics apologized to the store clerk and offer everyone's help to clean it up. Much to everyone's objections, Shuhei was right, they did make a mess, and they did need to clean it up.

The store clerk (yeah I keep using store clerk even though they are in a restaurant) refused their offers for help and sent the on there way. Both Renji and Ichigo were happy they didn't have to clean the mess they made, and Rukia began to lecture them about it, even though secretly she was no better than them. They headed back towards Ichigo's house to try to plan a better course of action than what they came up at the burger joint, if you can even count that as a plan. Most of the way they walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They soon arrived at Ichigo's house, and it was strangely deserted. Ichigo looked around the kitchen and found a note, but couldn't make out what it said, as it seemed that his dad wrote it in a hurry. Rukia took everyone else up to Ichigo's room while Ichigo himself wrote something to his dad on the back of the note. Once Ichigo arrived at his room, the "meeting" was "officially" started.

"So Shuhei, you said that the soul society was providing us with the transportation right?" Ichigo asked thinking back to their previous discussion.

"Yeah, that's what they told me," Shuhei answered dumb-founded by the question.

"So, how exactly are they going to get us there?" Ichigo continued his barrage of questions.

"Well they are going to fly us there using something called an airplane invented in this world," Shuhei answered with a confused look on his face along with Rukia's and Renji's faces.

"Does anyone in Soul Society know how to fly a plane?" Ichigo continued.

"Well they do have a team of people stationed here, so they might know," Shuhei answered.

"Okay, just making sure I had this all cleared," Ichigo said scratching the back of his head, trying to piece this all together.

"I just want to know why we have to do this stupid mission," Renji commented leaning the chair he was sitting on backwards.

"It doesn't matter," Rukia said knocking him backwards causing him to hit his head on the desk, "we have to do what the Soul Society orders us to do."

"Still Head Captain Yamamoto didn't say why we were out-sourcing Americans though," Shuhei informed the rest of the room.

"Well whatever the reason is, the answer may lie in America," Uryu pointed out as he too is trying to piece the mission together.

"Well I guess we all should start packing," Ichigo said in an indirect way to clear out his room.

"I agree with Ichigo, we have to leave very early in the morning to try and locate our ride," Shuhei shrugged as he knew that he forgot to tell them one of the most important details of the mission.

"WHAT?" the whole room gasped as they stared at him in shock.

"My bad," Shuhei nervously chuckled.

Preview of chapter four:

Just learning of the most important detail at the moment for their mission, the gang decides to meet at Ichigo's place early in the morning. Where is the plane located and what is is in stored for the ride over? Stayed toned and find out. Also Ichigo's friends will be disappointed when they find out that they are not going.


	4. Heading Off!

**Chapter 4: Heading Off!**

Where we last left off, Shuhei informed everyone that the Soul Society would be providing the transportation to America, but left out one important detail until the last moment. Now when they regroup back at Ichigo's house in the morning, they will have to search for their ride.

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After everyone settled down from the shocking news they received from Shuhei, they decided that Ichigo was right, it was time to leave, pack, and get a good night's sleep. They all said their goodbyes, which left Ichigo, Renji, Rukia, and Shuhei in the room.

"So what are the sleeping arrangements?" Shuhei asked, realizing that he had not planned this far.

"Well, what do you mean?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"I mean, where am I sleeping?" Shuhei asked in a respectful tone.

"Well since Rukia practically lives here now, she sleeps in my sister's room," Ichigo started.

"What do you mean practically lives here?" Shuhei asked.

"It's some long, complicated story I told his dad, you don't want to know," Rukia answered him, shaking her head.

"That makes sense I guess," Shuhei told her.

"Then Renji sleeps in the closet where Rukia used to sleep," Ichigo continued.

"I am not going to ask about that one," Shuhei said.

"It's better that you didn't," Renji sighed.

"Then I guess I have to sleep with Ichigo in the bed," Shuhei suggested.

"HELL NO!" Renji shouted, blushing a little. Rukia giggled and caused a snicker out of Shuhei because he knew she took it out of context.

"Well I guess that how it has to be though," Ichigo mumbled.

"What that is not fair!" Rukia shouted, "We had to practically beg your dad to let us stay here, but Shuhei comes out of the blue and you have no problem with that!"

"Yeah, what the hell man!?" Renji also shouted.

"Well it's just going to be for one night only!" Ichigo argued back.

"I don't care, it's just not fair!" Rukia demanded. They started to bicker back and forth along with input from Renji. Shuhei just stood there and sighed, it was going to be a fun mission indeed. After the argument was over, everyone except for Shuhei started to pack. Sure Shuhei had a few things with him from Soul Society, but he didn't have anything else to pack.

"Shuhei don't you have anything to pack?" Ichigo asked. Renji looked at him, and noticed that Ichigo was acting unusually out of character. Shuhei held up a small bag he brought from the Soul Society, and Ichigo was surprised.

"Oh, is that all you need?" Ichigo asked.

"This is all I brought from the Soul Society, and I don't have any clothes other then the ones that came with my gigai, so I guess it is," Shuhei answered a bit nervously.

"Well, you can borrow some of my old clothes; I was just going to give them away anyways, so take your pick. You can even use one of the duffel bags from my closet," Ichigo offered.

"What the hell! Why are you acting so weird Ichigo?" Renji asked almost like he was in a state of panic.

"What are you talking about now Renji?" Ichigo asked, confused again.

"Ever since we came back, you haven't been acting like yourself!" Renji explained.

"I still have no idea what you're talking about," Ichigo confessed.

"You have been nothing but nice to Shuhei, but when I came here you've been a complete asshole!" Renji tried to make it simple for him to understand.

"Is that what's bothering you?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense to me," Renji confessed.

"Well it's pretty simple to understand. Shuhei doesn't rub me the wrong way and doesn't argue with me over everything," Ichigo explained.

"Thank you Ichigo," Shuhei thanked.

"Still doesn't make any sense," Renji mumbled under his breath. Ichigo and Renji continued to pack while Shuhei was going through some of Ichigo's old clothes and picking out what he liked. It took longer than they expected to pack, and Rukia was done way before them. She came into the room when she had finished and kept making fun of them because of that. When they were finished it was almost eleven. Rukia decided to call it a night, and went to bed. The guys on the other hand were going to do the same, but they needed a bath first. In an effort to save time, they decided to take it all together. (Yes they are weird like that. After all, it is Japanese custom to share baths and shower. I don't get it either.)

Once in the bath, they began to discuss ideas of where the plane might be located.

"Where do you think the Soul Society will hide a plane in the human world?" Shuhei asked as he was just as confused as the others.

"Probably at the airport," Ichigo suggested, but knew it was highly unlikely.

"Na, knowing them, they'll probably hide it like in a forest or something. Somewhere people won't be able to find it easily," Renji said while the other boys nodded in agreement.

"It's not like you can call them and ask them where it is," Ichigo sarcastically said as Renji laughed. That's when it struck Shuhei, why didn't he think of that before?

"Ichigo, I didn't even think of that," Shuhei boasted, while Ichigo had a confused look on his face.

"You know I was being sarcastic, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I know, but that is exactly what we should do tomorrow morning," Shuhei smiled.

"Who knew there was something going on in your head Ichigo," Renji laughed.

"Well whatever is going on up there, is more then what you have," Ichigo mocked back.

"Take that back!" Renji demanded.

"Make me!" Ichigo commanded. Just then fists started flying everywhere, Renji and Ichigo kept trying to land blows on each other but kept missing. Shuhei just waded backward avoiding the fight entirely. Indeed Shuhei was strong, but he tried to avoid fighting as much as possible.

When their bath and violence was finally over, they headed back to the room and went to bed. Renji went into his closet, while Ichigo and Shuhei crawled into the bed.

"No funny busy boys," Renji laughed as he closed the closet door.

"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled as he threw a pillow at the door.

"Don't mind him, it's not like you can get me anyways," Shuhei said making fun Ichigo.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Ichigo shouted at Shuhei, while you can hear Renji faintly laughing in the closet.

"I am not too sure myself, but I was just trying to get in on the jokes," Shuhei lied for the most part.

"Oh OK, and if anything, you won't be able to get me," Ichigo turned the joke around on him. Shuhei was stunned and he didn't have a come back for it. He let out a deep sigh and soon everyone was asleep.

It was five in the morning and Ichigo, Renji and Shuhei were standing outside the front of Ichigo's house waiting for everyone to arrive. Ichigo was wearing dark green pants and a tight red muscle shirt, Renji was wearing white pants, and a black long sleeved shirt with a red dragon on it, and a white bandanna on his forehead, and Shuhei was wearing his dark blue jeans, a tight black shirt, and a blue vest. Them wearing tight clothes made it seemed like they wanted to show the whole world just how ripped they are. Rukia then came out wearing black boots that reached up to her knees, a black skirt, and a purple shirt with a yellow vest. Orihime was the first one to arrive, wearing yellow sun dress with a white jacket to go with it. She was just so cheerful even though it was too early in the morning for everyone to be fully awake. It took everyone a minute to realize that Orihime was there, considering that she wasn't suppose to be. They tried to argue with her about it, but she wouldn't listen. She strictly told them that she will follow Ichigo to the ends of the Earth. Although he thought it was a bit creepy and too much. As soon as everyone arrived, Shuhei called the Soul Society to find out where their ride was, and much to everyone surprise, Renji was right, the "spirit plane" was in the middle of the forest.

"The Soul Society said that the plane will take off at six so we better hurry," Shuhei said.

"Wait, that means we only have twenty minutes until the plane takes off," Orihime pointed out. It took a moment for it to sink in, that is when they all started to panic.

"Ichigo, we have to hurry and get to the woods," Renji demanded.

"Everyone follow me!" Ichigo ordered. Ichigo grabbing his stuff started to run in the direction of the forest and everyone followed suit.

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Preview of chapter 5:

Barely making it to the plane in time, boarding it is not what they expected. What was going through the mind of the Soul Society at the time they designed it? Is it safe? And will it take them over America?


	5. A Scare in the Air!

**Chapter 5: A Scare In The Air!**

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"Come guys, hurry up! This is not the time to be falling behind," Ichigo motivated, leading the way.

"But Ichigo, you're going too fast," complained Orihime, who was the slowest one and quickly falling behind.

"Give me your stuff, I'll carry it for you," Shuhei offered and she handed him her stuff.

"Thank you," Orihime thanked as she picked up speed.

"So Ichigo, where exactly in the forest is this 'plane'?" Renji questioned.

"Just follow me, I know the way," Ichigo answered indirectly.

"So he doesn't know," Renji and Rukia thought, which was probably right.

They continued to run and soon reached the forest area, without even taking a small break to catch their breath. They rushed in, trusting Ichigo to lead them in the right direction. They ran for another five minutes, going as fast as they could, until they reached a clearing in the middle. They finally stopped and started gasping for air, each of them felt like their lungs were going to burst. They needed to rest but they could do that on the plane. That is when Ichigo looked up and noticed the plane, which wasn't really all that impressive. To him it looked like a black jumbo jet, but in a really crappy condition. That is when everyone else looked up at the plane, with their faces filled with disappointment.

"This is a piece of crap," Renji thought out loud and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Maybe Ichigo got the wrong location?" Rukia mentioned.

"Not likely, it's the only one here," Ichigo sighed in disappointment.

"Well it's not much, but it's in better condition than when I found it," said a mysterious voice in the distance. Everyone turned to see where the voice was coming from, and saw a strange man emerging from the woods behind them.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked the strange man, although it seemed there was nothing strange about him. From his appearance alone he had short, messy, sliver hair, grey eyes, a stern, almost unemotional face, the normal sour reaper attire with no personal changes, and no zanpakuto on him.

"My name is Socco, I will be your pilot to America," he answered in a respectful manner.

"You can't expect us to ride that thing," Renji scolded him.

"It's either that, or buy the tickets yourself, which are quite expensive," he taunted.

"Well, I can't afford to buy them," Shuhei told them.

"Although, since it is another country, don't we need passports?" Orihime asked.

"Yes, and that takes a while," Ichigo explained to her.

"I guess, he is our ride," Shuhei sighed.

"Just follow me," Socco respectful ordered. They followed him to the entrance of the plane and hesitated before they got inside. Once inside, it was an even bigger let down. There were no seats, just boxes stacked up on top of each other.

"Boy, it sure is roomy," Orihime said positively.

"Where's the rest room?" Rukia asked as she was finally fully awake.

"Here it is," Socco told her handing her a bucket. She stared at him, then the bucket, then at him again. She was shocked.

"I'm a girl, there's no way I'm going in this!" she yelled as she threw it at him.

"My apologies," he said handing her a pink bucket with flowers on the side.

"I hate the Soul Society so much right now," Ichigo thought.

After a rough take off and a few hours of trying to maintain stability in the air, everyone was finally able to relax a little and converse with one another.

"This is horrible!" Rukia told Shuhei with everyone nodding in agreement.

"I am truly sorry," Shuhei said remorsefully.

"It's not your fault. Who knew that Soul Society would actually do something like this?" Renji tried to cheer him up.

"Well, it's the last time I help out," Ichigo frowned.

"You know, you didn't have to come," Shuhei pointed out.

"That's our Ichigo though, always wanting to help out," Orihime smiled.

"Yeah, so how exactly are we going to find them once we get there?" Renji asked.

"I think we might be able to see them, after all, they should be similar to us," Shuhei said not knowing whether it was true or not.

"What happens if that's not possible?" Renji inquired.

"Well we just act like hollows and have them come after us," Shuhei suggested.

"So when they assigned this mission, they didn't give you any details?" Rukia asked.

"Well, that's not exactly it," Shuhei started.

"What did you do?" Renji asked.

"They said they didn't know much about the Americans other than the fact that they have their own Soul Society," Shuhei confessed.

"So old man Yamamoto had a brain fart," Renji sighed.

"This is going to be a very difficult mission," Rukia sighed.

"I should have just stayed home," Ichigo mumbled. Socco came into the room and saw the sad look on everyone's faces.

"We should be over America in ten minutes," he informed everyone.

"Where are we going to land?" they all asked.

"Who said anything about landing?" Socco asked.

"What are you saying?" Shuhei asked in a panic.

"My job was just to take you over America," Socco answered.

"Then how do we get on the land?" Renji asked.

"You jump," Socco told them as he walked over to open the door. With one strong push, the door slid open, and the heard the strong howling of the wind.

"Ichigo I'm scared," Orihime pouted. Socco walked to a trunk that was placed by the door, opened it and started to throw its contents at everyone. He was handing everyone a parachute and a pair of goggles. Everyone rushed to put them on and then Ichigo and Orihime looked down from the door to the ant size ground below.

"There's nothing you can do to get me to jump the hell down from here!" Ichigo threatened.

"Sorry Ichigo, please forgive me," Rukia said as she pushed Orihime out the door.

"Ichigo!" she screamed.

"Don't worry, I'm coming for you," he yelled back to her as he jumped. Renji grabbed Rukia's hand and they both jumped and screamed.

"Thank you for the ride," Shuhei thanked and bowed before he jumped from the plane. They were all falling from the plane without their luggage in case you were wondering.

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Preview for chapter six: They manage to land on the ground in the middle of no where. All that is left for them to do is to make it to the nearest city.


	6. In America!

Author's note: Please review after reading.

**(RE) Chapter 6: America At Last**

Ichigo landed on the ground with a big thud nose with his parachute falling and covering him a few second later. He crawled out and removed quickly removed the bag.

"That's strange, why am I the first one to land on the ground, I thought that Orihime would have been first," Ichigo commented as he heard a scream. He looked up to see who was coming next and Orihime landed on top of him, knocking him into the ground.

"Sorry Ichicgo," she sobbed as she got off from on top of him.

"It's okay," he told her with a smile only to have Rukia land on top of him and knock him back to the ground.

"Thanks Ichigo, I owe you one," Rukia chuckled as she got off of him and helped him up.

"Don't mention it," he sighed as he finally got to his feet. Finally Renji and Shuhei came landing and big surprise, they landed on top of Ichigo as well.

"What the hell, why is everyone landing on top of me?" Ichigo asked in anger.

"I can think of several reasons," Renji chuckled.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean," Ichigo asked him.

"Think of yourself as a big, orange target," Renji commented towards him.

"I wonder what happened to our luggage," Shuhei said as everyone looked at him and wondered as well. Just then, like meteors crashing down to the Earth, they fell from the sky and landed right around them.

"I'm surprised they survived," Orihime commented. Shuhei looked around; it was nothing but grass as far as the eye can see, with the exception of a small pond to his left and a long road to his right.

"I guess we have to walk the whole way," Shuhei sighed as everyone looked depressed.

"I hate the Soul Society so much right now!" Renji shouted.

"This mission sucks," Rukia added.

"I am never helping the Soul Society again," Ichigo inputted.

"It's okay Ichigo, think of it as a vacation," Orihime tried to cheer him up. Ichigo hung his head as Shuhei grabbed his own luggage. He started to walk down the road, leaving the group behind.

"Where the hell are you going?" asked Renji, who was still angry.

"I am going to see this mission through," he called out to him.

"How the hell are you going to do that?" Renji questioned him.

"You see this road?" Shuhei asked.

"Yeah, what about it," Renji wondered as everyone looked at them.

"Well, roads leads to cities, so if we follow this, we may find a city to actually do this mission," Shuhei explained as everyone finally understood. He continued to walk as everyone shuffled to gather their things and rushed to follow him.

The continued to walk for a couple of hours, everyone was getting really tired for a couple of reasons: 1) they hadn't had a rest stop, 2) they were hungry, and 3) Orihime wouldn't shut up about all the wonderful facts about America. Sure they knew some of the stuff they remembered from class, but enough was enough. Just then a red pick-up truck pulled up next to them. The door opened to reveal a man, no a teen, who was wearing blue jeans, a red shirt with the words "Own Melody" in black, he had short blond hair that was spiked at the top, and dreamy blues eyes that can make all the girls fall in love with him.

"You guys need a ride?" asked the handsome stranger.

"Yes please," Rukia and Orihime answered going ga-ga over him.

"Just throw your stuff in the back and hop in," he smiled at him and they did just that. He looked at the men with they and he sighed,

"You guys ride in the back, only the girls can be in the truck."

"What the hell," Ichigo started before Shuhei covered his mouth.

"Thank you," Shuhei thanked and bowed at him.

"Sure no problem," he said freaked out by the weird custom. Once everyone was in the truck, he drove off.

"My name is Lance, what brings you girls to the middle of no where?" he asked.

"My name is Rukia, and we got lost," she answered him.

"My name is Orihime, and we're from Japan," she added.

"Japan, huh? What brings you to America," Lance asked confused.

"Well, we're on a mission," Orihime giggled.

"A mission, okay, that explains the muscle you brought," he said referencing the men in the bed.

"Don't mind her," Rukia said, "the sun got to her head."

"Yeah, well, I will drop you off in town, is that okay?" Lance asked.

"That is fine, we're just grateful for the ride," Rukia smiled at him.

"Anything for beautiful girls such as ya'll," Lance flirted as they giggled. (Yes that is a ya'll; now you can try to figure out what state they are in.)

...

"So why are we riding in the back of the truck?" Ichigo asked.

"It's the only way we could have gotten into town with the girls," Renji answered him.

"Still, this is pretty screwed up," Ichigo commented.

"Quit bitching," Renji scolded him.

"Please don't fight right now, we don't want to be kicked off the truck," Shuhei told them.

"Still, let's just be thankful we didn't have to walk," Renji said.

"Well, when we get to town, I'll call the Soul Society and see where we are going to lodge and such," Shuhei informed them.

"Are you sure your spirit phone will work here?" Renji asked.

"It should," Shuhei answered pulling it out.

"Oh no," Renji commented, as he saw Shuhei's phone.

"It's broken," Shuhei cried.

"What the hell?" Ichigo asked accidentally knocking it out of his hands. It fell onto the road and shattered into a million pieces.

"Ichigo you idiot," Renji yelled at him.

"I could have fixed that," Shuhei sighed.

"I'm sorry," Ichigo sighed as well.

"It's okay. We've got to find another way to contact the Soul Society that is all," Shuhei reassured him.

...

"Your friends sure are lively back there," Lance mentioned with a deep sigh.

"Yeah, there is never a dull moment around them," Orihime told him.

"That's cool," he said.

"So how much longer until we get to the city?" Rukia asked him.

"About fifteen minutes," he answered her.

"That is great," Rukia smiled.

"So, how are you guys going to pay me back for the ride," Lance asked.

"Well, we don't have any money at the moment," Orihime said.

"That's okay, I was thinking about something else," he told her as he put his hand on her leg.

"Please move your hand," Orihime asked him nicely.

"If you say so," he said as he started to move his hand up and down her leg.

"That's not what I meant," Orihime squealed as Rukia turned to look to see what the problem was.

"Oh, I think it is," he laughed.

"Get off of me," Orihime screamed.

"Hadou 33 Soukatsui," Rukia said without a moments notice and blasted Lance out of the truck.

"Thanks," she said.

"It's no big deal," Rukia said. Just then the truck started to swerve from side to side.

"How do you drive this thing?" Rukia asked.

"I don't know," Orihime screamed. The truck started to go faster, knocking the guys and the luggage around really fast, so fast they didn't know what was going on. It was in that instance a shadow appeared and caught Shuhei's eye. He wasn't too sure what he saw, but it was a teenager, he had short black hair with bangs that covered his left eyes, a pair of empty dark eyes, was all that he noticed. The truck came to a sudden stop and everyone was flung forward.

"What the hell happened?" Ichigo asked once everyone had gotten out and was safe.

"I am not too sure, but we were saved by someone," Shuhei informed everyone.

"Well Rukia blasted the driver out of the truck," Orihime told Ichigo.

"To be honest, I'm surprised it worked," Rukia bragged.

"What in the world caused you to blast the driver out?" Renji asked.

"He was making a move on Orihime," Rukia explained.

"That's it, he's dead," Ichigo shouted.

"Well he might be," Rukia told him.

"What do you mean?" Renji inquired.

"Well it was a pretty powerful blast, and the truck was going pretty fast," Rukia sighed.

"Well what the hell do we do now?" Ichigo asked.

"Does anyone know how to drive?" Renji asked and they all shook their heads no.

"I guess we walk, after all it's only two miles," Shuhei suggested.

"How do you know it's two miles?" asked Renji.

"That sign right there," he answered pointing to a sign.

"Grissom, two miles ahead," Ichigo said as he read the sign.

"Well, let's go, it's going to get dark soon," Shuhei said as he looked at the sky. They all nodded in agreement and started to walk down the road yet again, they had only been in America for a few hours at most, and they already didn't like the experience they were having so far. Luckily for them, the truck went off road so it wouldn't be causing any problems for all the other drivers. They continued to walk and finally reached the outside of the city limits.


	7. Chance Encounter!

Author's note: Please review after you read. Also, I bet you guys probably noticed I started to include "re" in front of the chapter names, well basically it is a rewrite and a re release of the chapter. The first time I released the story, it took weird turns and I could complete it. Although I still want to write it so I am redoing the whole series. When the chapters stop having "re" in front of them, that means it's mostly, if not, all new story line and not my original.

**(RE) Chapter 7: Chance Encounter!**

"Dammit! That was the longest two miles I have ever walked," Ichigo complained as the gang reached the city limits sign.

"I'm with you there," Orihime sighed as she collapsed to the floor.

"At least we're outside the city now," Shuhei assured everyone.

"Still, where are we going to stay?" Rukia asked everyone.

"I don't know, if Ichigo didn't break my spirit phone, we could have made arrangements," Shuhei explained.

"Ichigo is really an idiot," Renji agreed.

"Enough. I don't have the energy to fight with you," Ichigo told Renji.

"For once you're right," Renji chuckled.

"What was that?" Ichigo asked.

"Enough," Rukia ordered. Everyone let out a huge sigh as things kept getting worse and worse. They heard the sound of a huge crash and quickly turned their attention towards.

"What is that?" Rukia asked.

"It looks like a sea wyvern," Orihime (yes her) pointed out.

"No, it's more like a hollow," Renji corrected her.

"It might be," Shuhei mentioned as they saw a hollow, or what seemed like a hollow, which looked like a cross between a flying fish and a harpy.

"We have to do something," Ichigo stated.

"We can't; it's not our job," Shuhei informed him. Ichigo didn't listen to him, he took out his badge and struck it against his chest, but nothing happened.

"I can't go soul reaper," Ichigo shouted as he kept striking it against his chest.

"The soul reaper power might not work here," Renji reminded him.

"Whatever," Ichigo mumbled as with one final strike he finally released his soul reaper form.

"Ichigo wait," Shuhei called out to him but he ignored him and rushed towards the hollow. With a mighty leap into the air, Ichigo swung his sword and easily sliced through the hollow.

"That was easy," Ichigo bragged as the two halves fell and landed on either side of him.

"What the hell did you just do?" a voiced called out to Ichigo causing him to turn around.

"I just saved this town," Ichigo boasted.

"No you doomed us all," the voice told him. Ichigo finally took noticed at the stranger. He had short, spiky black hair with a blue lighting streak on each side of his head, empty black eyes, and a serious look upon his face. He was wearing black slacks, black boots, and a long sleeved, collard shirt that had the top three buttons undone. Strangely he had two swords at his waist, and it looked like he had no personalization to his outfit. Then again that could be personalized and we would be none the wiser, yet.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"That was an anti-hollow bait hollow you just destroyed," he explained.

"Say what," Ichigo was confused.

"That monster was used to draw hollows away from the city and destroy lesser hollows," he explained it simply to Ichigo.

"I see, so you guys call them hollows too?" Ichigo asked quickly changing the subject.

"Yes, they have a hole somewhere on their body where their soul and sometimes their hearts used to be. That's how they got their name," he told him.

"So if I can see you, and you can see me, that means your a soul reaper right?"

"What's a soul reaper?" the stranger asked, "oh you must mean _grim reaper._"

"Grim reaper?" Ichigo was even more confused now.

"Look, I would love to stay and chat but I've got to inform my team of what happened," the stranger told Ichigo as he was getting ready to leave. Ichigo's friends soon joined them all in shocked of what they are seeing.

"My name is Ichigo..." Ichigo started to introduce himself.

"That's nice kid," the stranger smirked.

"You can at least introduce yourself," Renji shouted as the stranger turned around. His eyes caught Shuhei's again, and the strangers face turned a light shade of red.

"Thank you for saving us earlier today," Shuhei thanked as he bowed.

"It was no problem," the stranger boasted as he scratched the back of his head.

"My name is Shuhei Hisagi," Shuhei introduced himself.

"The name is Trace Ashes," Trace the mysterious stranger introduced himself.

"Hisagi, everyone, if were linked by fate, we will meet again," Thomas smiled as he vanished.

"That was strange," Rukia commented.

"Yeah, why did he introduce himself after Shuhei and not me?" Ichigo pondered.

"Well maybe it's because you condemned his city," Renji pointed out.

"How did you know about that?" Ichigo asked.

"We were going to tell you, but you ran off," Renji answered.

"I have seen it before, so I was able to tell," Rukia explained.

"Right, I forgot we're in a different country, I can be myself here," Ichigo mentioned as he climbed back into his body. Stupid Ichigo acting first and asking questions when his ass isn't being kicked.

"It's okay, at least that soul reaper was nice," Orihime smiled.

"Well, they're called grim reapers here," Ichigo explained.

"Grim reapers?" Shuhei mumbled.

...

"Trace, you're late coming back from your patrolling round," a lightly tanned woman with long black hair and blond tips, brown eyes, and a sexy voice told him.

"Sorry Courtney, something happened," Trace explained.

"What do you mean something happened?" a male with medium sized, dark brown hair, and light brown eyes asked.

"Well Corey, someone destroyed our anti-hollow bait," he responded with a sigh.

"Who would do something like that?" a tall, lean woman with long black hair, and hazel eyes, asked.

"It was this one guy with spiky strawberry blond hair, wearing a Japanese kimono of sorts, thought I was a 'soul reaper'," Trace did his best to explain.

"Soul reaper? That is something for a cosplayer to accuse you of," a short woman, with long red hair that was tied in a ponytail and brown eyes pondered.

"He saw me, so I don't think he was one of those, but I believe we have trouble," Thomas informed his group.

...

Ichigo and the others looked around the massive city around them; they were lost and had no idea where to go. They need to find some place to stay, even if they had to camp out for a night or two.

"I'm so hungry," Orihime sighed as she looked at Ichigo.

"You're not the only one," Ichigo told her as they both put a hand on their stomach.

"If we find an open area, I can make us some food," Shuhei told them.

"Really?" Renji asked.

"Yes, I made sure to bring food and some supplies with me," Shuhei informed the group.

"That's what I like about doing missions with you. You are always prepared for the worst," Rukia complemented him.

"That's what all those years at the academy were for," Shuhei joked. They walked around for a couple of minutes looking for a great open spot to picnic in. When they finally found the spot Shuhei wasted no time in setting up his portable grill and started to make a stew of sorts. How he managed to fit it in his bag, we will also never know. Orihime offered to help and told him some "friendly" advice about cooking but he kept shooing her away, letting her know that he didn't need any help, especially from her. He made sure that she didn't hear that last part. Within fifteen the food was ready and everyone was served, with enough left over for everyone to have seconds.

"This is amazing," Ichigo exclaimed.

"This is the best food ever," Renji bragged.

"I didn't know you could cook this good," Rukia confessed.

"It's alright," Orihime shrugged a little jealous that it was better than what she could make.

"I give you my regards," Renji smiled.

"I can die happy," Ichigo commented between bites.

"Thanks, it's nothing really," Shuhei smiled as he was glad everyone was enjoying themselves. The sun was setting, and an uneasy feeling crept over everyone. Shuhei glanced up to the sky and noticed there were a bunch of dark figures flying over head. Before he could speak, the sound of an alarm rang, but only the group was able to hear it.


	8. Hollow Rain!

**(RE) Chapter 8: Hollow Rain**

"What's that noise?" Shuhei asked as everyone looked around trying to figure where it was coming from. Everyone continued to look around.

"It's coming from everywhere," Ichigo shouted. Renji turned to notice that the people who were walking on the street didn't hear it.

"It must be an alarm of sorts," Renji pointed out.

"It must be because some idiot broke the anti-hollow bait," Rukia commented and Ichigo knew it was him.

"It's not my fault, I didn't know," Ichigo told her.

"It doesn't matter, you're still at fault!" Rukia argued with him.

"It doesn't matter now, we have to use our powers to stop them," Renji mentioned.

"Our powers might not work," Orihime said.

"We'll just have to take that risk," Shuhei told her. Rukia and Ichigo continued to argue while the hollows made their decent to the grounds. Ichigo, acting like the hero he always seems to be, pulled out his badge and hit it against himself, but nothing happened. Renji took it from Ichigo and did the exact same thing, but nothing as well. It seemed that it didn't work on Rukia or Shuhei either.

"What do we do?" Rukia asked.

"Our soul reaper powers aren't working," Renji was about to panic.

"Damn it," Shuhei cursed.

"This is hopeless," Ichigo stated. Just then, a catlike hollow crept closer to Orihime and was about to attack. She was about to scream, but a small arrow struck the hollow and save her.

"Where did that come from?" she asked but in a thankful tone.

"Not sure," Ichigo responded as more hollows started to make their way.

"Hadou 33: Soukatsui," Rukia said but nothing happened. "Oh no, my Hadou isn't working," she shouted as the hollows were growing closer.

"Bakudon 99: Bankin," Shuhei said as a last resort, and again, nothing happened. "Damnit, am I really this much weaker than my comrades?" Shuhei thought as a hollow swung to attack him.

"I Reject [Santen Kesshun (triple heavenly linking shield)]," Orihime cried as she manage to make a shield to protect Shuhei from the attack.

"There's too many of them," Ichigo pointed out as he was dodging blow after blow along with Renji and Rukia.

"There is a different flow of spirit energy here," Shuhei thought, "it's probably why our powers are so unstable." Things turned grim as death was drawing close on them. Shuhei warned them that their powers are going to work differently here, if they worked at all. They all drew closer together, almost like they were forming someway to watch each other's back.

"Surge! (Release) Voltage! (Name)" shouted a female voice as thunderbolts rained down from the sky, striking and destroying the hollows closet to the group. She appeared in front of them, armed with a sword which the blade seemed to be shaped like a lighting bolt. Shuhei took noticed of this strange girl. She had a dark completion and a long black hair with blond tips. She was wearing a black, short-sleeved collard shirt with a black skirt that reached her knees. She had long black socks that reached just below her kneecaps, and a pair of black loafers. Her whole outfit had a bright, almost electric yellow trim.

"Who are you?" Shuhei called out to her.

"The name's Courtney; I am one of the grim reapers that lives in these parts," she explained. Just then a girl just popped out of no where who looked exactly like Courtney appeared but she was wearing black combat boots, tan almost peasant-like pants, with a black shirt that had a red pentagram on it.

"You didn't think you were going to leave me behind again Courtney, did you?" asked the girl.

"Razeo, I told you to watch my body!" Courtney shouted out to her.

"Is she a MOD soul?" Rukia asked the group.

"I believe so, but they might have a different name here," Renji answered her as they continued to watch them.

"You know that I am an element modification, and I am a master of martial arts!" Razeo scolded, "For God's sake, I can shoot lightning!"

"Okay, you can help fight the hollows around here," Courtney told her so she would shut up. The remaining hollows drew closer and started attacking with everything they had. Razeo, who was in Courtney's human body, charged her hands with electricity and started to punch the hollows, destroying them one by one.

"Shockwave," Courtney said as she started sending electric wave currents that hit at least four hollows each. In a matter of seconds, all the hollows in that area were defeated and destroyed.

"Thank you for helping us out," Shuhei bowed as he thanked her.

"You can see me?" she asked them.

"Of course we can. We're not Idiots," Ichigo told her. Well that is debatable.

"Well, I guess you have some spiritual awareness then," Courtney wondered.

"It's more than you know," Rukia told her.

"Well I've got to jet, I have to check in on my teammates and see how they are faring," she explained to them as she vanished before their eyes.

"That was weird," Ichigo commented.

"This is a scary place," Orihime shivered as she clutched herself onto Ichigo.

"Doesn't matter, that's already the second grim reaper we encountered," Renji pointed out.

"Shouldn't we ask them to come with us," Shuhei thought to himself as he kept quiet.

"I wonder how many of them are here," Renji asked that no one knew the answer to.

"Five," said a voice behind them as they turned around to see it was Trace, in his grim reaper suit, or so it would seem.

"Ah, we meet again punk," Ichigo huffed at the sight of him.

"It's nice to see all of you guys again, even though it is under unusual circumstances," he sighed.

"What is going on here," Shuhei asked without making direct eye contact with him.

"We're doing damage control of the hollow invasion," he answered an avoiding Shuhei's face altogether.

"Is it because Ichigo broke the anti-hollow bait?" Rukia bluntly asked, causing a stir in Ichigo.

"Exactly," he coldly answered her. Trace looked around and saw their what seemed to be a camp ground. He let out a big sigh and handed a Shuhei a piece of paper but avoided eye contact.

"If you or your friends ever need something, anything at all, come to this address," he explained.

"That is very kind of you," Shuhei thanked him.

"Well, I've got to check into some stuff, but I'll see you guys again very soon," Trace told them as he vanished.

"Wow, that was nice of him," Orihime mentioned.

"Yeah, why is he helping strangers like us out?" Shuhei asked like he thought that something was up.

"Well, whatever the hell it means," Ichigo started, "we should just take his offer. It seems like the best thing we can do for now."

"Wow, Ichigo can be insightful," Renji pointed out before he and Ichigo got into a fist fight.

"Well, how do we find this place?" Orihime asked looking at the paper.

"I'm not too sure yet," Shuhei truthfully told her.

Once everything was done and packed up, Shuhei and the gang decided to go to the address that was handed to them by Trace.

"You know, it could be a trap," Ichigo told Shuhei as they walked.

"I don't think so," Shuhei smiled.

"Why is that?" Rukia inquired.

"I don't think that he's that type of person," Shuhei answered her with the same smile that was on his face.

"I still don't trust him," Renji stated, "That bastard could be trying to pull a fast one on us."

"It doesn't matter," Shuhei mentioned, "it's the only thing we can do."

"It is going to be night soon," Ichigo pointed out as dusk night was falling slowly.

"I'm so tired," Orihime sighed as it has been a long day. They walked in silence for about half an hour until they reached another park area. They decided to take another break, which was a good idea at the time. Within minutes, they peaceful rest had been interrupted by another hollow, although this one seemed different. This hollow was shaped like a giant penguin with a hole in its left eye, and a tongue that could probably stretch out and eat people.

"Crap!" everyone in the group was thinking. Their powers probably wouldn't work again, and if they did, everyone was too tired to try anything.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Renji asked.

"I am not too sure, maybe we will be saved again," Shuhei wished. As if his prayers were answer, another grim reaper, this time, she had long red hair that was tied in a pony-tail, the normal girl grim reaper out, this time with green trimming, green socks, and two blades that seem like they were folding fans.

"Oh, so this is the elusive hollow that I've been after," she smirked as the hollow automatically turned its attention to her.

"Blow! (Release) Wingona! (Name)" she semi-shouted as she created a giant gust of wind from both of her fans and knocked the hollow back. She rushed towards it, hoping that she could finally destroy it this time. The hollow got back up quickly and stuck it tongue out at her. Within moments, she was wrapped around the waist and took to the air. She struggled to get free, but it was of no use. Everyone watched in fear as their savior was about to be crushed.

"Salamander!" a male voice called out as a dragon made from a fierce red flame came from the side of the penguin and struck it in the side, causing it loosen its grip allowing the female to get one of her arms free.

"Thanks Corey, I've got it from here," she called out to him and he quickly stepped backed, "Wind Scythe!" with a swing of her fan blade, millions of blades that seemed to be made out of the wind itself struck the penguin, allowing the woman to finally be free.

"Rachel, are you alright?" Corey asked.

"I'm fine, I shouldn't have taken that 'Class S' hollow lightly," She answered him.

"Class S," Ichigo, Renji, and Shuhei thought to themselves. The penguin struggled to get back up, but the grim reapers wouldn't let that happen. Corey, the male who was wearing the standard male grim reaper uniform (think back to Trace's) had a personal touch of red trimming, and untucked shirt, and the top two buttons undone, slightly showing his pecks, was holding a sword who had a red and black hilt with a blade that seemed to taken the shape of a flame, swung his sword around in the air, with a fire trail along with it.

"Fire Ring of Death," Corey called out as he unleashed his attack on the hollow knocking it back down and it caught on fire.

"Now Rachel!" Corey commanded her. She folded her fan-blades and held them straight out. She released her grip on the bottom part and let the fan unfold.

"Swallow Waltz," she quietly said as a giant whirlwind surrounded the penguin and started to slash it. When the attack finally ended after fifteen seconded the penguin was destroyed. Corey and Rachel turned around and saw the shocked faces of Shuhei and the group. They sheathed their swords and vanished before anyone could talk to them.

"Wow, that sure was powerful," Orihime commented.

"Where the hell did they get power like that?" Ichigo questioned.

"I wonder if anyone in the Soul Society is able to do that," Renji pondered.

"I wonder if anyone could actually fight on par with them," Shuhei wondered.

"I think we found our mission," Rukia casually mentioned.

A.N.: Yes I am being lazy with the writing. I am not that good at describing things so I am not being that creative with the outfits, yet. Although when they use the American equivalent to bankai, I will make sure to go into that in full.


	9. Different Strokes!

Author's note: Whoa, I haven't done one of these in a while. Yay, an early update. I bet you guys are wondering what brought this on, and it's quite easy to explain. I am going to try to update this story as much as I can before school starts up again. After all, it is my senior year and I really need start doing all that college applying stuff. Although an update should be too hard considering I have half the series written, it just needs to be re done before I switch to the new original story line.

**(RE) Chapter 9: The Difference Between the Worlds!**

They had to start somewhere, so they began asking people which way they should go. Shuhei, the only one who had the balls to do it, showed the address to many people hoping that someone would know the way they should go. So far, no luck. Then again, would you help someone out who was asking for directions in the middle of the night? It was almost pitch black outside, night was upon them, and they had no shelter.

"Just give it up already," Ichigo bitched.

"No, we have to find this address," Shuhei argued.

"Why can't we do it tomorrow?" Renji asked.

"Trace said if we needed anything to seek him out, and I am going to take him up on that," Shuhei explained.

"It's hopeless," Rukia sighed as she and the rest of the group minus Shuhei sat down on nearby grass. Shuhei continued to ask until no one was around anymore. He let out a deep sigh, and then he noticed that the temperature was slowly dropping. He turned to warn the rest of the group, but they were all asleep in one huge pile. Yes, it is as weird but not as dirty as it sounds. He wanted to wake them up, but knew he could probably handle whatever came their way. He rushed over to Ichigo and searched him for his badge. It took him a moment of feeling him up until he found it in his front left pocket. He tightly gripped it ready to use it in an instance, but something told him that he may not need it. Pale blue flower petals appeared and gently danced in the air. It was as if the petal were a gate considering a young woman soon appeared. She was wearing the standard female grip reaper outfit but had blue socks, and everything had a blue trim to it. Her long brown hair flew in the wind that was created just to show her off, with a permanent fixture of boredom in her eyes.

"Who are you?" Shuhei asked her.

"The name is Manikha, and who might you be?" she asked him back.

"I'm Shuhei Hisagi," he answered her, but didn't bow this time.

"I see, and what are you doing here?" She asked him.

"I am on a mission," he replied.

"Oh, a mission?" she questioned.

"Yes, but I got lost, can you help me out?" he inquired.

"Depends, how are you able to see me?" she questioned even furthered.

"I am a soul reaper, in the same sense as you," he answered.

"Don't lie to me," she shouted and pulled out her blade.

"No it's true," he said as he hit the badge against his chest. "Please work," he thought as he was separated from his body.

"A kimono," Manikha thought, "you're some sort of Asian," she called out to him.

"Sure," he told her as he pulled out his zanpakuto.

"So you intend to fight me?" she mocked.

"Not really, I just wanted your help," he told her.

"Cascade! Wallace!" she called out. her sword glowed a bright blue and transformed itself into a small blue rod. Shuhei glared at her, he felt like he was being mocked as he started to lose his cool. She showed the rod to him and she muttered a word. In that moment, the rod transformed into a giant blue scythe.

"What the hell!" Shuhei asked her.

"It's Wallace's power. Since he is made out of water, I can rearrange his molecules to take any shape I want him to," Manikha explained as she swung at him. Shuhei dodged it easily and threw a firework like bomb at her. It exploded on contact knocking her back a few feet. She recovered from the explosion and started to wildly swing her blade at him. He dodged each and every swing, and what he didn't dodge, he blocked with his zanpakuto. For some reason, they acted like they were evenly matched until Manikha transformed the scythe into a four-way scythe (use your imagination). The battle soon changed directions and it seemed that she was out to kill Shuhei.

"Kazeshini!" Shuhei called out and his zanpakuto transformed into a kusarigama (It's hard to describe if you haven't read the manga. Think of it sort of like a pinwheel like blade).

"Manikha stop!" a voiced called out and they both seemed to know who it belonged to.

"Damnit Trace! Don't interfere, that man is on a mission," Manikha complained as a he came closer. He wasn't in his normal grim reaper outfit this time, just in his human form. He was wearing black pants, blue shoes, a black, studded belt, and a short-sleeved, mesh shirt, that was solid blue on the front and mesh in the back and on the sleeves.

"Yeah I know, they just got lost on the way to my house," Trace explained to her.

"What do you mean," the both of them asked.

"Well I gave them a paper with directions to my house," he had to explain again.

"So that means you met them before?" she asked all innocently.

"Yeah, we met quite a few times, continue your patrol and I'll take them to my house," he ordered her.

"Fine," she muttered as she vanished from the battle site. Shuhei was back in his gigai and came over to Trace's side.

"Thanks," Shuhei thanked him for saving them yet again.

"It's no problem, she's been like that ever since she started going out with Hunter anyways," he explained.

"No, it is a big deal, this is like the third time you have saved us," Shuhei made his voice clear.

"Well, it's fine, just wake everyone up and follow me to my house," Trace kindly told him.

"Alright, just give me a few minutes to get everything together," Shuhei requested from the familiar stranger.

A few minutes later, everyone was awake for the most part and they followed Trace to his house. They walked in silence as everyone was too tired to talk. By the time they got there, everyone was about to collapse.

"Whoa, this place is huge," Orihime gasped as they arrived at Trace's house, which looked like a mansion.

"This is really amazing," Shuhei mentioned.

"It's nothing, really," Trace boasted modestly. Everyone commented in amusement as they headed inside. It was even bigger on the inside than it seemed to be on the outside. Trace gave them a grand tour and told every one where they would be staying. Rukia and Orihime would be sharing the room, and it seemed to be the biggest. Renji was stuck sharing a room with Ichigo. It seemed that Trace had placed them in the same room just to annoy them. So that left Shuhei and Trace to share a room with each other. Most of the rooms in the house had their own purpose so that left only the three guest rooms and his room so that why everyone had to share. No one however, seemed to mind the arrangements, they were just happy to have food and shelter. Shuhei promised to explain everything to Trace about the mission in the morning but first they need a bath. The girls' room had their own bathroom in there so they wouldn't be using the public one. Ichigo and Renji were too lazy to check so that left the four guys to the one that was behind the door that was in between their rooms. They slowly walked in and saw that it was bigger than any public bath house. The tub alone was like half the room, they were going to enjoy this. Everyone quickly stripped and headed to the wash area first. Even though they were in America, this bath area was similar to that of a public Japanese bath house. After scrubbing themselves down and rinsing the soap off their bodies, they went into the bath whose water was really hot.

"This is a bit uncomfortable," Trace confessed as he never had to share his bathroom with anyone.

"The feeling will pass," Ichigo told him smugly.

"Oh, don't you know that," Renji remarked.

"Shut it guys, this is not the time to fight," Shuhei told them.

"You're right," Ichigo sighed.

"Sorry," Renji sighed as well.

"It's alright," Trace told them. The conversation soon went into awkward silence as they just sat there, enjoying the hot water.

"So how can you afford this place by yourself?" Shuhei asked out of the blue, but trying really hard to make a conversation start.

"My mom left it for me in her will," Trace answered with a look of depression.

"Oh I'm sorry," Shuhei remorsefully said.

"It's alright, you didn't know," Trace reassured him.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did she go?" Renji asked.

"Cancer," Trace sighed.

"Well you're a grim reaper, can't you go see her?" Ichigo asked.

"Can't. It's one of the laws of the Spirit World," he explained.

"Laws of the Spirit World?" the three of them asked.

"Yeah, the law I am talking about states that grim reapers are not allowed to see family members unless they have already died. Not the family members, but the reapers themselves," Trace tried to inform them from his memory.

"Well she's dead isn't she," Renji rudely pointed out.

"I'm not, that's the thing," he sighed yet again.

"Well how did you get your powers?" Shuhei inquired.

"That's a story for another day," Trace smiled, which confused the hell out of them.

Back in Trace room, he and Shuhei were getting ready to go to bed.

"I am sorry about earlier," Shuhei stated, "it was uncalled for."

"It's okay, you didn't know," Trace reassured him.

"But I," Shuhei started before he was cut off by Trace placing a finger on his lips.

"Not another word," he said as Shuhei nodded in agreement.

That morning, everyone was sitting at the dinning table waiting for breakfast to be served.

"So, what is this mission that you guys are on?" Trace inquired from Shuhei and the gang.

"Well, after the," Shuhei started before he was quickly cut off.

"Make it quick," Rukia ordered him and he nodded in agreement.

"Long, complicated story short, things happened in Soul Society and we need new captains. The remaining soul reapers are not quite as powerful as they need to be to fill the slots, so we got sent here to outsource," Shuhei explained as quickly and simply as he could.

"So we were hoping you and some of your friends would come be captains and what not," Renji stated.

"I have no problem with going," Trace answered which sent a look of joy on everyone faces, "but I won't go without my friends, and I don't think they are as willing as I am." Everyone's joy filled face was replaced with disappointment. "Even if they did want to go, there is something we have to finish here first before we can even consider of relocating."

"Well then, I guess we have to ask your friends," Ichigo said trying to raise everyone's spirit.

"Well that sounds like a plan," Shuhei muttered.

"I was wondering, what are the differences between our worlds?" Rukia asked, wondering how different they could be. So far, it seems exactly the same, except with name changes. It seems that she is catching on.

"Let me think: we are called grim reapers while you guys are soul reapers," Trace started.

"We all ready know that much," Ichigo told him.

"He is making sure that he covers everything," Shuhei pointed out.

"What you guys know as the Soul Society is known as the Spirit World here. The clothes are different. Well all the grim reapers are split up into ten squads. Each squad is led by a captain and a sergeant. When one becomes a sergeant they obtain a red tie, and once promoted to a captain's level, they receive a blue sports jacket-like thing. Above them, we have the royal knights; those are former captains and sergeant who serve under the prince of the Spirit World. It used to be an actual prince, but now it is just a title. Then finally the head honcho is the Spirit World king, he is supposed to be the strongest grim reaper. Aside from that, we have the punishment force, the medical and research department, and that's all that I know of. After all, I've only been once, and I still haven't learned everything about the place yet," Trace finished explaining because he didn't feel like going too into detail.

"I see, it's quite similar indeed," Rukia mentioned.

"So here's another question," Renji started, "what are your swords called?"

"They are Fawks and Bruno," Trace stated.

"No, I meant what are they called. Our swords are zampakuto, they are a reflection of our souls and spirit power," Renji explained.

"Oh, they are Soul Swords, the name is not original that we just use various names when we refer to them," Trace elaborated.

"Why do you have two?" Shuhei asked.

"Well Fawks in my true blade. His power alone rivals that of the Spirit King, but I don't use him much. Bruno on the other hand, was given to me by a very close friend. I can release his true form and evolve him without having to control the power," Trace informed them.

"Evolve?" Ichigo ponder, "What is that?"

"Oh, it's the equivalence to your bankai," Trace explained.

"I see, so we're pretty similar with the key differences," Rukia mumbled to herself drawing attention towards her.

"What are you thinking Rukia?" Orihime asked.

"Oh it's nothing," she replied.

"So what problems are you facing here?" Shuhei inquired, wanting to know exactly what was happening.

"Well, we don't know exactly for sure to be honest with you," Trace nervously laughed.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Ichigo shouted as he slammed his hands on the table.

"Shut up and you might just learn something," Renji scolded trying to get Ichigo to calm down.

"As I was saying," Trace started again. "The reason we don't know exactly is because the motives of this group hasn't been made cleared. They just showed up at random and inconvenient times, just causing basic mischief at best, then they leave without a trace."

"Why don't you guys just ignore them?" Orihime asked like that hasn't been thought of.

"Normally we would, but the reason why this is so troublesome, is because they have spiritual powers," the host responded.

"So why don't you just eliminate them?" Renji used this moment to ask another obvious question.

"That's been thought of too. The reason we don't is because we can't track them down. If that's not reason enough, it is because they are also human, which provides serious problems for us," was the response no body wanted to hear.

"Well, how do you know they are a group and not a single person?" Rukia questioned.

"Well we seen the group a few times, and after every encounter, they leave this behind," Trace sighed as he was tired of explaining. In his hand, he held a bright red rose with a tag that read 'Crusaders' attached.


	10. The Search!

**Chapter 10: The Search!**

"Alright then, let's look for the others!" Ichigo shouted after everyone ate.

"Do you even know where they are?" Renji asked, confused.

"It doesn't matter; we will find them," Ichigo resolutely stated.

"How can you find them if you don't know where they are?"

"It doesn't matter; they'll turn up!" Ichigo shouted.

"Well we need to know where to look!"

"We'll have Trace show us where they are!"

"Are you sure _he_ even knows whey they are?" Renji countered.

"No, I am not even sure that I want them to come with us!" Ichigo shot back.

"Why not? Afraid that they are too powerful?"

"No! Shut up!"

"You're an idiot!" Renji yelled.

"You're a moron!"

"Bastard!"

"Asshole!"

"Stop fighting!" Rukia screamed as she knocked their heads together.

"Are you guys always this lively?" Trace asked.

"No, sometimes we're even more," Orihime confessed.

"I see, well at least things stay interesting," Trace chuckled.

"Renji and Ichigo brought up a good point though," Rukia pointed out.

"Which one?" Shuhei asked.

"Would you be able to locate them?" asked Rukia.

"Yeah, it's no problem; we're all friends. I know them in person and in their grim reaper forms, so they'll be easy to track," Trace answered.

"So, how will you convince them?" Shuhei asked.

"Well Hisagi, that's not my job I'm afraid. The responsibly lies on you," Trace pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Shuhei asked.

"Well just because I agreed, doesn't mean they will. Wasn't it your mission to convince them to join?" Trace inquired.

"It's true," Shuhei sighed, "But will you help us out?"

"Of course," he replied.

"What the hell did you bring up all that shit then?" Ichigo asked, rubbing his head.

"The fact is-" Trace started.

"Just leave him alone Ichigo," Rukia ordered.

"He's just acting like an idiot!" Ichigo shouted. "Look here, you will take us to your friends, you will help us convince them to come with us, and you will do it with a goddamn smile!" Ichigo commanded.

"I don't like your tone," Trace pointed out.

"What does that mean?" Ichigo asked.

"It means, Force Push!" Thomas raised his palm to Ichigo's chest and sent a force of energy (think of it like a psychic blast) and sent him flying across the room.

"What was that for?" Ichigo asked.

"For pissing me off! I am offering my help and everything for you guys, but you have to fight me every step of the way Ichigo," Trace explained.

"Please forgive the action of my fellow comrades," Shuhei offered.

"It's okay, I was just making my point," Trace stated, "Wait here, I have something for you guys."

"What is it?" Orihemi asked.

"Just wait, I'll be right back," He informed them.

"I wonder what it could be." Orihime wondered.

"I bet it's something stupid!" Ichigo shouted hoping that Trace could hear him.

"Show some respect!" Rukia shouted at him as she slapped him across the face.

"That idiot will never learn," Renji sighed.

"I think he's got something that will help us out," Shuhei thought.

Everyone waited in silence for a few minutes waiting for their host to return. They grew impatient waiting and for a moment they thought that he had pulled a fast on them.

"Here we are," Trace announced as he came back into the room and put a small box on the table.

"What the hell is in there?" Ichigo asked what everyone was thinking.

"They're grim reaper supplies that may help you guys out while you're here," he responded.

"I don't really get it," Renji muttered as he scratched his head.

"Is it like that ones that Urahara sells at his shop?" Rukia asked.

"I don't know how to answer that," Trace confessed as he scratched the back of his head. Who was this Urahara guy?

"That's right, you wouldn't know who he is," Renji pointed out.

"Well that doesn't matter, I just want to see what is in the mystery box," Orihime shuttered with anticipation.

"Who wants to be my first victim?" Trace asked.

"I do!" Orihime shouted as everyone looked at her.

"Well this should be interesting," Shuhei sighed. Trace reached in the box and moved his hand around for a minute. He finally pulled out a gold heart. Yes it is as stupid and as cheesy as it sounds.

"Oh it's so pretty…what is it?" Orihime asked innocently.

"It's a EMO (Emotional Modification Overdrive) broach. It allows you to change your emotions at will, but it is mainly used for battle. Since your power is based on your emotions, it's perfect," Trace explained as simply as he could.

"Wow, I didn't know there were such things as that," Rukia gasped.

"I wonder what he has in stored for us." Renji pondered.

"So then, that leaves you 'soul reaper'. I bet you guys wonder what I have," Trace smirked as he pulled out a weird looking belt from the box.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"A belt. Somehow it found its way into this box," the sarcastic host stated as he threw it to the side. Ichigo turned red with anger.

"It is my understanding that your powers come and go in this country, am I correct?" Trace inquired.

"Yeah, what of it?" Ichigo asked in a condescending manner.

"Well, originally I was going to give you an exercising badge, but it seems pointless right now," the spiky haired host trailed off.

"Wait, if it's not that, what the hell is it?" Renji asked.

"I'll give you one guess," the raven head male smiled as he held some weird looking candy.

"MOD souls," Shuhei muttered.

"Exactly, although these aren't your ordinary MOD souls. Each one has a name and ability, and once inside," Trace started to monologue before being cut off yet again.

"We know how MOD souls work, so just get to the point already," Ichigo ordered.

"Fine, each one has a name and ability, and your "soul reaper" kimono will be Americanized as long as you're here," Trace finished with a slight hint of anger in his voice.

"Interesting," Shuhei mumbled, "so now we get to use our powers again?"

"In theory, yes," Trace sighed.

"What does that mean?" Ichigo asked.

"I think he's trying to say he doesn't know how it would react with your bodies," Orihime explained. Wow, she actually picked up on something fast.

"I see, that does make a lot of sense," Renji stated.

"So let's try them and find out," Ichigo said and was about to pop the pill in his mouth.

"Now is not the time, we have to track the others first," Shuhei commanded. Everyone nodded in agreement with some hesitation. They knew he was right, the mission came first; besides, they had a lot of time to try out the objects later. They left the house in search of the others, hoping they would be easy to find, and more importantly, easy to convince to join. They all decided that they should ask Courtney first; after all, she was the first one they "encountered".

"So how long have you known the other reapers?" Rukia questioned.

"About a year and a half," Trace answered.

"Wow, they way you raved about them, it would seem longer than that," Shuhei commented.

"Yeah, when we all met, we just sort of clicked," the host chuckled as he thought back to how they all met.

_It was about two years ago, during the second week of September. Almost every one of them have been ousted by a group of people because they just didn't belong. Trace, Rachel, and Manikha all knew each other the year before because they met under unusual circumstances, while Courtney and Corey lived around each other and just started to randomly talk to each other on the bus. They all had the same lunch period and needed a place to sit. There was this open space out side in the court yard. There were a few benches and trees that no one seemed to sit by. They all just casually encountered each other in that spot and became friends instantly. It was quite weird, but they didn't question it; they just let things happen as they came, and next thing they knew, they were a team._

"Hey, you alright there?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Trace answered.

"You just kind of spaced out there, I was worried," Ichigo informed him.

"You were _worried_?" Trace asked in a smug mocking manner.

"Yes, wait no. Not in that way. Not whatever you were thinking!" Ichigo panicked and turned red.

"Chill out, I was kidding," Trace sighed.

"You have to watch what you say around that idiot," Renji started explaining, "He always jumps to the wrong conclusions."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Ichigo asked.

"It means you're an idiot," Renji told him.

"Well if I'm an idiot, that makes you a moron," Ichigo taunted.

"Well I'd rather be an moron than a dumbass," Renji mocked.

"They're the same thing, so you _are_ a dumbass," Ichigo stated in a mimic tone.

"Watch it or I'll kick your dumb ass," Renji warned.

"We all know, a punk ass bastard like yourself couldn't hope of defeating me," Ichigo mocked yet again.

"Quit flirting you two!" a female voice in the distance shouted.

"What did you say?" Ichigo asked at the same time Renji was asking, "Who are you?" The voice came closer and it was none other than Courtney. She was wearing her tan pants with a black shirt that had a blood red pentagram on it.

"I said quit flirting. If you lovers are going to fight, do it where no one will watch you," she explained to them as they looked around and saw many faces turned their way.

"I'm so embarrassed," was the thought that was going through everyone's mind.

"Well, shall we go some place more private?" Trace asked. Everyone nodded; this wasn't the place to talk about anything.

The two American teens took them to a park. Sure it was a public park, but no one had come here in years. They all sat down on a semi-old swing set and Shuhei began to explain their mission. Courtney nodded every once in a while to let him know that she was actually understanding what he was saying. He reached the end of his explanation which took about fifteen minutes and she got up.

"Sounds fun, count me in," she commented as Shuhei's face lit up with joy.

"Thank you, this really means a lot to me," Shuhei confessed.

"There is one condition though," Courtney added at the last minute.

"Anything," Shuhei told her, but as soon as he said it, he regretted it.

"I want one of you guys to fight me," Courtney told them.

"Fight you?" Rukia inquired as to what she meant.

"I want to see what kind of power they have across the ocean," Courtney explained.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"It's simple: I want someone to fight me, or I'll assume that you guys are weak and take back my offer, " she explained.

"Then don't forget about my conditions as well," Trace added.

"I'll fight you," Shuhei told her.

"Hisagi, don't," Trace advised him.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I'm sure the other guys are itching to fight since they first arrived," the teen explained.

"I'll do it," Rukia offered.

"What? Why?" Orihime asked her.

"Well, Ichigo and Renji are going to fight about who gets to fight her, and that may take a while," she explained.

"You have a point there," everyone agreed.

"Well this should be fun," Courtney commented as she popped her MOD soul, "you know the drill Razeo!" Courtney grim reaper form separated from her body and the MOD soul took over.

"Yes, but I want to fight this time," Razeo in Courtney's body argued.

"Sorry, not this time," Courtney told him. Yes it is a guy MOD soul in her body.

"I really want to," he pleaded with her.

"Don't argue with me, your time will come," she told him in a strict tone of voice.

"Yes ma'am," he backed down.

"Okay, it's my turn!" Rukia shouted as she popped her MOD soul, but nothing happened. "What is the meaning of this?" she asked.

"Well since it is your first American MOD soul, it will take a few moments," Trace explained as she was finally forced out of her body. Rukia was wearing the standard grim reaper uniform (by now I know you guys can tell the girls apart from the boys) only she had a snow white trimming, white socks, and a white ribbon tied around the collar.

"What, I thought you had to personalize it yourself," she pointed out.

"You can. But the first time, it is just supposed to reflect your soul," Courtney explained. Rukia and Courtney exchanged battle glance with each other, and they were both ready to rumble.

"My name is Bunny," Rukia's MOD soul interrupted to introduce herself to Rukia.

"It's nice to meet you," she smiled at her.

"My ability is jump. I can jump high in the air and land back on the ground with no damage to me," Bunny informed her.

"That's nice, but can we do this later? I'm kind of in the middle of something," Rukia told her.

"Sure thing boss," Bunny smiled and rushed to be with Ichigo and the group.

Preview for Chapter 11:

The battle between Courtney and Rukia starts and neither of them are holding back. What was the point of the battle? Who will win? Who would be the next one they encounter? Does the author actually have a story and plot line to continue past the main point of this?


	11. Dance of the Lightning!

A message from the writer: Well school has finally calmed down enough to let me write more. I am a bit too proud to beg but please review after you read. I work really hard on my stories and I need feed back so I know in what areas I need to improve in. Since I allow anyone to review, you don't even need an account. See, it is that simple.

**RE: Chapter 11: Dance of the Lightning!**

A few minutes had passed since Rukia separated from her body and managed to calm her MOD soul Bunny down. Courtney looked in grimace as she was waiting for the battle to start.

"Any time would be great," Courtney sighed as she tapped her sword to her back.

"I'm ready now," Rukia commented as she pulled out her sword and pointed it at Courtney.

"Let's begin," Courtney smiled in anticipation.

"Damn she's fast," Rukia mentioned as Courtney's blade came from behind her and she barely had anytime to block the attack. Courtney vanished again and Rukia didn't know which way she would attack from next.

"Quit hiding and fight for real!" Rukia ordered. Courtney appeared in front of Rukia and swung at her. Rukia blocked the blow with one of her own and started swinging her blade over and over again at the girl Courtney who was very skilled; she blocked each and every swing and even countered with some of her own.

"We're evenly matched," Rukia pointed out as she took a few steps back from the battle.

"You wish," Courtney taunted as she stepped back as well.

"I see. You don't know a good opponent when you see one, do you?" Rukia asked.

"I do, but neither of us is trying so it's hard to judge," Courtney confessed.

"Quit being so damn arrogant!" Rukia commanded.

"So easy to lose your cool," Courtney pointed out.

"Does she normally lose her temper this fast?" Trace questioned.

"Pretty much," everyone answered.

"It's the same with Renji and Ichigo," Shuhei added. Rukia and Courtney stared each other down, looking for the perfect moment to strike. Courtney tightened her grip and dashed at Rukia. She swung several time, each time Rukia could barely dodge the blows. Rukia stepped back, then launched herself at Courtney swinging wildly hoping that one of the blows would make contact. Courtney could barely read Rukia's moves, let alone block any of them. The assault finally ended, allowing Courtney to take a step back. She felt something cold drip along her arm. She looked to see what it was, and saw that is was blood. Somehow one of Rukia's attacks must have landed.

"I see you have some skills," Courtney pointed out.

"Why yes, I have a few," Rukia said in a humbled manner.

"It's been a while since anybody managed to land an attack on me other than that loser when we spar together," Courtney explained.

"Are you serious?" everyone asked at the same time.

"Indeed, he is quite powerful," Courtney confessed," I think I only managed to beat him a few times."

"I'm just really lucky," Trace modestly bragged.

"I see, guess I made some right choices for my mission," Shuhei smiled.

"Well then, let's take this battle up a notch," Rukia invited.

"Fine with me," Courtney accepted, "after all, I _was _getting bored."

"Dance! Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia called out. Her zanpakuto transformed and became completely white with a ribbon formed at the pommel. "Just to let you know, my blade is the most beautiful in the Soul Society," Rukia bragged.

"This isn't a Miss America pageant," Courtney told her. (Random question that was brought up in my math class last year. What is the difference between Miss America and Ms. USA? If you know or have a good idea, please add it in your review.)

"A what?" Rukia asked confused.

"A Miss America pageant is a contest where one person from every state enters to see which state has the most beautiful woman of the year," their host explained.

"Isn't that a bit shallow?" Orihime questioned.

"Normally it would be, like with most pageants," he answered.

"What the hell is the difference then?" Ichigo asked.

"These are well rounded woman," Trace replied.

"Who the hell cares about their breast?" Renji grunted.

"It's not that idiot! These women actually have advance degrees and, never mind. Let's just say that these are not stereotypical women," Trace explained as simply as he could. He should have learned by now who he was dealing with.

"I would like to see one," Shuhei told him.

"Okay, enough of the perverted conversation," Courtney demanded.

"Miss America," Rukia mumbled.

"Electrify! Surge!" Courtney called out. A bolt of lighting shot out from the blade and went towards Rukia. Rukia jumped out of the way to dodge it. She slowly looked up and saw Courtney's soul sword. The hilt (the handle part, I actually don't remember the names of the part) was wrapped in what seemed to be an electric blue cloth, and the blade was bent to resemble that of a lighting bolt.

"I don't really like the form Surge takes in his first release. The lightning bolt is a dead giveaway of his type of power," Courtney sighed.

"I hate to admit it, but I agree with you," Rukia nodded.

"Unlike yours, if it wasn't for your blade turning white I would have never guess that it was an ice user," Courtney explained.

"What, you can tell just by looking at it?" Ichigo inquired.

"It's not that hard really," Courtney answered.

"You don't have to be a bitch about it," Ichigo grumbled.

"What she meant was that after you encounter ability after ability, you start to see a pattern," Trace defended his friend.

"No, I meant what I said asshole!" Courtney called out to him.

"Who are you calling an asshole?" Trace asked.

"You, of course, idiot," Courtney replied.

"I rather be an asshole than some jerk who does nothing but-" Trace started to rant before Shuhei covered their host's mouth with his hand.

"You should never speak to a woman that way," Shuhei explained.

"It's okay, we have an agreement," Trace mumbled under Shuhei's hand.

"Tsugi no mai, hakuren [the next dance, white ripple]," Rukia chanted as she fired a massive wave of ice from the tip of her blade. Courtney glanced at the attack and calculated the time it would make impact.

"Don't have anything in your arsenal to counter it?" Rukia asked in a mocking tone. The attack drew closer to Courtney and she didn't even blink.

"Light screen," Courtney mumbled as the attack was a few feet away from making contact. What seemed like a shining sheet of glass appeared in from of Courtney took the attack and reflected it back at Rukia.

"No way!" Renji shouted from the sidelines.

"What powers from hell do they have here?" Ichigo asked. Rukia's eyes widened as she saw her attack be sent flying back at her with twice the power she initially put in.

"Light Screen is one of Surge's abilities that I recently discovered. It blocks all special attacks and reflects them back with twice the power," Courtney explained. Rukia was hit by the attack and sent flying back into Ichigo and Renji, knocking them down.

"Rukia!" Bunny shouted. She rushed towards Courtney ready to attack, only to be blocked by Razeo who grabbed her arm and shook his (actually her because he is in Courtney's body) no. Rukia slowly got up almost undamaged but looked really shocked.

"That was interesting," Rukia confessed as she managed to get back to her feet.

"I told you it would be," Courtney mocked.

"Now it's my turn to show you something," Rukia chuckled.

"Go ahead, entertain me," Courtney coaxed her.

"Some no mai, tsukishiro, [first dance, white moon]," Rukia said. A giant white circular area appeared around Courtney who appeared unfazed by this attack. Out of no where, a giant pillar of light emerged and froze everything within the circle from the ground until it reached the sky.

"That was really something," Trace complemented, "but too bad it wasn't effective."

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked.

"Everyone, pay careful attention or you just might miss the show," he smiled. The ice pillar started to crack and it busted with Courtney emerging unharmed and with her sword glowing a dim yellow.

"How did you manage to escape the attack?" Rukia questioned shocked, even though this isn't the first time that it had happened.

"Shard of Lightning," Courtney explained.

"I don't get it," Rukia confessed.

"The Shard of Lightning ability Surge possesses allows me to move as fast as lighting. With the time and speed I gained I was able to deflect the attack the moment it started to freeze everything," Courtney explained with some detail.

"Impossible," the crowd muttered.

"There's no way, I didn't see anything," Ichigo complained.

"How many slashes did it take you to deflect the attack?" Orihime asked.

"Seventeen," Courtney answered.

"No way, I saw eight slashes," Shuhei commented.

"I hate to say it, but your eyesight is better than mine. I only say flashes of light," Renji confessed.

"I saw every move," Trace bragged, purposely making them mad.

"It's impossible to see it though," Ichigo informed everyone, "a bolt of lightning can only be seen for three seconds at max, there is no way you could have moved that fast. How did you do it?"

"Only the darkness knows," Courtney told him with a smile as she put away her blade and went inside her body. Rukia still had an expression of surprise on her face; there was no way her attack could have been countered with just a few swings of her sword. Bunny rushed to Rukia's side and touched her hand. In a flash of light, Rukia was back in her gigai and had Bunny's MOD capsule in the palm of her hand. She fell to her knees trying to figure out how she could have countered that.

"It was a great match Ruika," Courtney offered her hand to help her up, "if Surge hadn't reminded me about that ability at the last minute, you would have won," Courtney confessed.

"I'm confused," Orihime told everyone, "what does she mean if Surge hadn't reminded her at the last minute?"

"It means that Surge told her what to do before the attack landed," Renji explained.

"I knew that much. I meant what did she mean that Surge reminded her?" Orihime asked clearly this time.

"That is a good question. I know that soul reapers can communicate with the spirit inside the sword, but I doubt you able to talk to them freely," Renji contemplated.

"So they can talk to their swords freely, who the hell cares?" Ichigo sighed.

"It means that they can formulate a plan in the midst of the battle," Shuhei explained.

"It's not as great as it sounds," Trace told them.

"Why not?" Orihime asked.

"Well for one thing, sometimes they don't shut up," Courtney sighed.

"Or in Corey's case, his blade has MPS, so depending on who the sword is at the time, it might take on a difference appearance and have a different release form," Trace added.

"What is MPS?" Orihime asked innocently.

"It stands for Multiple Personality Syndrome. It means that one person thinks they are several different people. I don't want to go into too great detail, otherwise I might overwhelm you," Courtney explained.

"My brain hurts just thinking about it," Orihime confessed. Rukia got back to her feet and walked over to the group.

"I think it's about time that we look for the others," Rukia suggested.

"What's the hurry?" Shuhei asked.

"America is too weird and I want to leave as soon as possible," Rukia answered.

"That doesn't really matter right now," Ichigo stated, "I still want to know how the hell we are going to convince the others."

"Well I could 'distract' Corey and we can take him by force," Courtney offered.

"No!" Trace disapproved.

"Why not? It sounds like a good plan." Shuhei asked.

"Trust me, it's something to be used as a very last resort," Trace explained.

"What kind of hellish attack is it?" Ichigo asked.

"It is every guy's weakness," he told them.

"I don't get it," Renji stated.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo asked. Just then, Courtney kicked with all her might and racked Ichigo causing him to scream out in pain. He fell to the floor and his eyes teared up. Everyone eyes widened at what Courtney had just done, while Trace's eyes were closed as he shook his head. A few minutes had passed and they all stayed silent until Ichigo got back up on his feet with rage in his eyes.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked Courtney in anger.

"You didn't get what I meant, so I showed you by example," Courtney told him.

"I told you that you didn't want to know," Trace added. Ichigo sighed; he was pissed at Courtney, but it was his own fault, he wanted to know.

"Okay, I think it's time to go look for the others before this goes any further," Shuhei suggested.

"Good idea," Rukia agreed like almost everyone else.

They continued to walk through the park, hoping that they may encounter someone else so they would have to search that far. Ichigo was still pissed and it seemed that even the slightest conversation might set him off, so everyone stayed quite. Courtney had a big smile on her face from what she did moments earlier and every time Trace glanced over at her, he shook his head. Renji tried to cheer Ichigo up but he shot him the death glare so he backed off. Rukia and Orihime were in the back still giggling about the incident while everyone remained silent. A few minutes had passed and Ichigo's stomach started to rumble.

"You're hungry already? We just ate not too long ago." Rukia asked as she slapped him in the back of the head.

"Yeah it's strange, I never get hungry this fast," Ichigo commented.

"There must be some American explanation about it," Renji suggested as he looked at their host and his friend.

"Don't look at me," she demanded as she pointed at Trace.

"America isn't to blame for everything, despite what everyone may think," Trace sighed.

"Well can we go somewhere to eat?" Ichigo asked.

"That's going to have to wait," a voiced called out, "first we have to wipe out the enemy soul reapers!"

"That voice..it couldn't be," Trace gasped ironically.

"Corey..!" Courtney muttered.

Preview for chapter 12:

Corey appeared out of the blue with orders to wipe out the soul reapers, little does he know that they are not enemies. What reasoning is there behind his mission? Last RE chapter before the new story line takes place.


	12. Friend or Foe?

Author's note: Yay an update after so much waiting. This is the last chapter to have 'RE' in it. Isn't it exciting? Okay, I know it's not but what can you do about it? School is getting busy again, so the updates...well you know. Please read, review, and enjoy.

**(RE) Chapter 12: Friend or Foe!**

"Enemy soul reapers?" Thomas and Courtney gasped at the thought of one of their friends targeting their new found friendship with the foreigners. There was something different about this encounter with Corey. He wasn't in his reaper outfit, and yet he was confronting them head on.

"Corey, what are you talking about?" Courtney questioned.

"Explain yourself!" Trace demanded. After all, he was the unofficial leader of the rag-tag group of reapers.

"Well I got an order form the Spirit World," Corey started.

"That can't be good," Ichigo commented.

"As I was saying: I got an order to wipe out the Japanese grim reapers, or so called 'soul reapers,' because they are responsible for the recent hollow invasion," Corey explained.

"Damnit Ichigo, I told you not to do anything!" Rukia shouted as she slapped him in the back of the head.

"Yesterday was a rough day," Renji sighed.

"On top of that," Corey added.

"There's more?" Courtney gasped, this time actually being shocked.

"That can never be good," Trace sighed.

"There was an encounter of an unidentified spiritual energy that confronted Manikha late last night that continued to early this morning. Manikha spiritual pressure vanished before the unidentified one, which we can only assume that she has either been killed or defeated," Corey continued.

"Who fought Manikha yesterday?" Trace inquired as he turned around to question the group.

"Who is she?" Orihime innocently asked.

"She's the water user," Courtney stated.

"That was me," Shuhei confessed.

"Did you kill her?" Trace pondered.

"No, she just left in the middle of the fight," Shuhei explained.

"Damn," Courtney whispered under her breath.

"Then there was an incident earlier today," Corey sighed as he was getting tired of explaining the reason why he was assigned to this mission.

"You mean Courtney and Rukia's fight that happened like five minutes ago?" everyone asked.

"Yes, she had also encountered another unidentified spiritual energy, and strangely enough her spiritual pressure faded before the unknown one. That could only mean that she has been defeated or killed," Corey explained.

"I'm right here you idiot!" Courtney shouted as she punched him in the face.

"Okay, but why did they assign this to you, and not some other mindless drone?" Trace was really wondering.

"Well all the drones are off on other missions, and since we're the only one in the area, it only made sense," Corey stated.

"How about that, their 'Soul Society' actually makes sense," Rukia pointed out.

"That still doesn't answer the question," Courtney sighed, "why did they pick **you**?"

"Well, your and Manikha spiritual pressure faded so they couldn't get a hold of you guys, Rachel is busy on watch, and Trace is with the unknown spiritual energies, so I was the only one who was available," Corey ranted.

"Ain't that the sad truth," Courtney giggled.

"Well they are not enemies, so just back off," Trace stated before he remembered why they were looking for him, "Wait don't back off I have to ask you something."

"It's going to have to wait, the mission comes first," Corey told him.

"This regards _my_ mission," Trace protested.

"I don't really care, I have to carry out _my_ mission first," Corey explained.

"No you don't! After all, we really don't belong to the Spirit World!" Trace exclaimed. All the non-American gasped at this shocking revelation. Corey seemed a little surprised at what was said, while Courtney seemed un-phased.

"What do you mean that you're not part of the Spirit World?" Shuhei asked what was on all of their minds.

"It's a rather long and complicated story," Courtney answered.

"We don't have the time to go into detail about it right now," Trace added.

"No, why don't you tell them; it's only right that everyone here gets to know," Corey taunted.

"Why are you acting like such an ass?" Renji inquired.

"Quiet you! You're not part of this!" Corey shouted.

"That freaking jerk! Let me deal with him!" Ichigo ordered.

"No!" Trace refused Ichigo's order, "If anyone is going to fight him, it is gonna be me!"

"Why do you get to fight him?" Ichigo asked.

"Its' a long standing feud between the two of them," Courtney answered, hinting at a rivalry between the two.

"What are you talking about?" Rukia questioned.

"Even though those two may be good friends, there's a certain rivalry between the two of them," Courtney explained.

"Sort of like Ichigo and Renji," Rukia pointed out after making the connection.

"So, did you guys get banished from the world or something?" Shuhei questioned the host.

"In a way. I don't really know if I can explain it, but I'll give it a try," he sighed.

_There is a reason why they didn't join up with the Spirit World when they awakened their spiritual power. For the first part you had to be dead, or at least close to it by severing all ties with the mortal world, then there was one of the main reasons: their parents didn't want them to join as well. Each of them had at least one parent that had grim reaper powers but left for unknown reasons and found love in mortals. For Courtney it was her dad who she inherited the lighting ability from. Corey received his fire power from his mother, while Manikha somehow got water from her mother even though she was ice, but we will not go too deep into detail. Rachel received wind from her father. Then there was Trace, with the power of earth, and the power of the phoenix. It doesn't make much sense about the phoenix part, but the earth he got from his mom who had the power of nature. The reason why they weren't allowed to join the Spirit World, besides not wanting to, but still take on missions from time to time for the money, was because they are decedents from "traitors". Ever since the inventions of DOPPLEGANGER (name in progress, next time it is brought up, it might be different) a.k.a. gigais, reapers had been leaving to relive as mortals back among the humans. Since some of the strongest reapers were among them, they were branded "traitors," unable to return, and their heirs could face the same punishments as their parents._

"I don't see what's so bad about that," Ichigo stated, thinking back to his father.

"I know we made it seem a bigger deal then what it really is, but being branded a traitor when you have no control over it just isn't right," Trace sighed after his long explanation.

"Whoa, that is some heavy stuff; still I would consider it lucky, now you don't have to be a mindless dog, serving some crappy organization," Ichigo reassured them.

"I know you're right, but just not having the option-" Corey started, but just didn't finish.

"Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it," Courtney sighed.

"Well we can destroy the Spirit World," Trace jokingly offered.

"You can't do that!" Orihime scolded them.

"We know that," the Americans smiled, "we were just kidding."

"Well I wasn't, I have to carry out my mission," Corey remembered.

"Damn it, just let me fight him," Ichigo begged.

"Screw that, we don't want you to ruin whatever chance we have at redemption, let me do it," Renji offered.

"I told you guys before," Trace sighed as he pulled out his MOD soul, "I am the one who is going to kick his ass!"

"Is that so?" Corey asked as he pulled out his MOD as well, "let's just see about that!" The two men popped their MODs and separated from their bodies. The spectators took a few steps backs to make sure they could watch without getting in the crossfire.

"Take good care of my body Thomas," Trace instructed.

"You can count on me," he responded in a joyful tone.

"That means no sneaking off and doing whatever it is you do when your in my body," Trace ordered.

"Yes sir," Thomas reluctantly responded as he went to go join the others.

"Now Roxas, don't get in the way, and don't get involved," Corey commanded.

"Whatever," Roxas responded in an emotionless tone of voice, "I don't care about your stupid fight. Just hurry up, I want to go back into MOD form."

"What am I going to do with you?" Corey sighed and Roxas walked over to a tree that was nearby the others, leaned backed and closed his eyes.

"I see all the MOD souls have their own personalities," Renji mentioned.

"It's one of the reasons why America sucks," Courtney listed.

"So, who do you think is going to win?" Orihime asked.

"Good question, but if I had to pick, I would say Corey," Ichigo responded.

"Sorry, but Trace is going to win this one," Courtney informed them.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Ichigo asked, "Does that mean you don't have any faith in your other friend?"

"It's not that," Courtney started, "it's more along the lines of, damnit, why is it so difficult to explain?"

"I think I get what you're saying," Renji nodded, "it's complex."

"Well whatever. I enjoy watching the fights; we get to see what they bring to our forces," Shuhei mentioned.

"What makes you so sure that Corey is going to agree?" Rukia wondered.

"Well I'm not too sure, but I have this feeling," Shuhei responded.

"Plus if he doesn't, we have our ways of convincing him," Courtney chuckled evilly.

"You're one twisted girl," Ichigo commented.

Corey stared his opponent down, hoping that he was able to find some way to beat him, if there even was a way.

"I'm different then the last time we fought," Corey informed him.

"I know," Trace stated, "you lost some weight."

"That not it at all!" Corey said in a defensive manner.

"I know, I was just kidding," Trace laughed.

"No, I can get my fire to actually beat your earth ability," Corey bragged.

"So are just going to stand there and talk about all this useless nonsense, or are you going to prove it?" Trace inquired.

"Ignite, Keith!" Corey called out, "I'm going to prove it." Corey bladed took the shape of a very sharp flame, and it seemed to have a reddish glow around the corners.

"Well, that's a relief," Trace sighed as he unsheathed his right blade, "I was getting sick of waiting."

"Wow, it seems like he is a different person when he is fighting," Shuhei noticed.

"He might be, we just haven't figured it out yet," Thomas told him.

"Erode, Bruno!" Trace called out. His blade transformed into a broad sword, but it seemed odd. The blade was tarnished where you could barely see your reflection, and it seemed to be cracked in different places, but not where it mattered. Corey rushed at Trace and started to wildly swing his sword. Trace blocked every blow but didn't send any back to him. Corey stopped and took a few steps back, and pointed his blade high in the air.

"Overheat!" Corey cried out and the blade glowed a bright red that radiated heat.

"I can feel that from here," Orihime pointed out as everyone agreed. Corey smiled but Trace seemed unimpressed, almost like the readers who actually read this story. Sure, it's been done before, and it is probably going to be done again. Corey brought his blade down and swung it towards the un-phased teen.

"Heat wave!" Corey commanded as heat waves came out of every swing and hit Trace. It knocked him back a few feet, but other than that, didn't seem to have much of an effect. Trace brought up his blade, but it was useless because Corey rushed him again swinging rapidly while radiating heat waves. The blade color grew darker, but it wasn't cooling. In fact, the heat was getting more intense. Corey took one final swing but Trace blocked it with his blade. When the blades made contact, an explosion was made, and Trace's blade shattered into tiny pieces that quickly fell to the floor.

"I'm surprised you haven't pull out any of your usual attacks," Corey said in a shocked manner.

"I know, I also told you that the next time we meet, I wouldn't be holding back," he responded.

"Wait, I broke your blade, what are you planning to do?" Corey questioned.

"This. Sand typhoon," Trace muttered as as two medium sand streams emerged from the ground, picked Corey up, and carried him up in the sky like a mini tornado. They left his body and Corey stood suspended in air for a few seconds.

"...and crush!" Trace finished as those sand streams slashed Corey across the body in a "x" like motion. The earth blade returned to normal.

"That makes another win for me," Trace boasted as he sheathed his blade.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that," Corey mentioned as he struggled to get back up.

"Yes, it is one of Bruno's ability. Didn't you ever hear the old saying, 'Never judge a book by its cover'? Bruno may seem all worn out and beaten, but actually he is quite powerful. The ability I used was Crocodile Sand, it allows Bruno to turn into sand, but not just ordinary sand. Each grain can cut like a sword so it is quite a useful ability," Trace ranted as he started to return to his body.

"The fight is not over," Corey muttered as he finally rose to his feet.

"Actually it is, we don't have time to be playing around," Trace warned him. Roxas rushed to Corey's side and the moment they touched, Corey was back in his body.

"Wow, your ability is quite interesting," Shuhei pointed out.

"Although it seems like I have seen it somewhere before," Renji noted.

"Well duh!" Rukia sighed, "it is similar to my brother's."

"That's right! Byakuya does the same thing, only with sakura petal," Ichigo mentioned.

"Sakura?" Corey, Courtney, and Trace asked.

"Yes, they're cherry blossoms," Orihime informed them.

"Wow, I learned something new today," Courtney mentioned.

"Me too," Corey agreed.

"Wait, before you go back into your body, fight me!" Ichigo demanded.

"No way," Trace told him as he was close to his body.

"I'm not taking that for an answer! Fight me!" Ichigo seemed more determined than ever to have a fight.

"Why do you want to fight? We're not enemies, so there's no point," Trace muttered in confusion.

"Well then, I'll just attack you until you strike back." Ichigo smirked as he popped his pill.

Preview for chapter 13:

Ichigo, wanting to test the abilities of his new friend, is preparing an assault on the host. Will Trace be able to calm him down, or will fighting be the only way to sooth the storm?


	13. Lies and Slander!

Author's note: Sorry for the lack of updates and focusing on my other story. It just gets hard writing for Bleach since it requires a lot more work than Kingdom Hearts. The story was suppose to be finished by now but you can probably figure out by now that I'm bad with schedules. So that why I'm devoting all of this month to Bleach. That means there should be four new chapters by the end of this month. Although I wouldn't hold your breath. Please enjoy this chapter and review after you read. Also this is the last of the old story line and the new one picks up here.

**Chapter 13: Lies and Slander!**

In a flash of colors Ichigo emerged from his human body into his new soul reaper attire. It wasn't much of a change as it was still all black. The only difference was that his sleeves were rolled up to above his elbows, a white belt surrounded his waist, surprisingly his shirt was tucked in with the top half of the buttons un-done, which showed a lot of fan service for the girls.

"Close your mouth," Trace told Courtney, who in turned slapped him across the face. Thomas and Corey laughed while the foreigners gawked at Ichigo's new look. His boots shone in the sunlight and his sword was fastened to his back.

"That looks promising," Corey mentioned as Courtney motioned for everyone to get back and leave a battle area open so they wouldn't get hit by any stray attacks.

"Come at me with everything you have; since I consider you a friend I won't hold back in my attacks!" Trace warned Ichigo.

"Good, I won't hold back either," he smirked, "if you can't even hit me once, then you're not all that great."

"Oh, someone's a bit arrogant. Do you have the skills to back it up little boy?"

"Little boy eh? You underestimate me." Ichigo unwrapped his blade and placed his free palm at the base of the hilt.

"Actually I overestimate you," Trace chuckled as he place his left hand on the hilt of the red and orange based blade.

"It's impossible to overestimate someone," Orihime added. Courtney sighed and smacked her on the back of the head.

"Bankai!" Ichigo screamed. After a beat, nothing happened, making his face blush red with embarrassment.

"You do know since you're in America now you have to change your trigger words, don't you?" Trace asked is a sarcastic tone of voice.

"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted. "Evolve! Tensa Zangetsu (Heaven Chain Slaying Moon)!" Ichigo's sword shrunk down to a long, thin black blade. His attire changed once again. Instead of his Americanized clothing, he returned back to his Japanese's bankai form. (Sorry for being bad at descriptions) He wore a long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat with red lining that is closed at his chest, then left to flare out into ragged ends, much like that of Zangetsu himself.

"Not very impressive," the spiky head American teen commented.

"I'm not finished yet!" Ichigo placed his hand on top of his head and pulled down. A white mask with red markings over both of the eyes. "Hollowfication!"

"Bad boy! You playing with some terrible powers!"

"Kuroi Getsuga (Black Moon Fang)!" he announced. With wild slashes from his sword, black blast with red lining erupted from his blade. One came after another until a few attacks later, a beam came forth. Trace didn't bother to dodge the attacks considering all of them made contact.

"You could have at least attempted to dodge or something," Ichigo stated as he removed his mask.

"Didn't have to," Trace chuckled. The smoke from the barrage of attacks cleared. There surrounded by two golden crimson wings was the American teen unharmed. The wings returned back to where they came from. Ichigo did a double take. There was something strange about his opponent. First of all, his attire was strangely colored yet unique. From his left shoulder, the tip was a light red color and kept getting darker until it was black by his right foot. Then there was his blade. The red and orange hilt was still there, but the rest of the blade was astounding. There were two golden wings that emerged from the top of the hilt. Those must have been what grew. The blade itself turned into a broad blade.

"Rise from the ashes, Fawks!" Trace voiced finally reaches Ichigo's ears. Then a scream was heard from the non Americans. They collapsed and fell onto their knees, the strawberry as well.

…

"Forgot to mention that Thomas' spiritual pressure is deadly which is why he doesn't use that blade much. Don't worry, once it recognizes you as a friend you won't feel it, " Corey informed them.

"Idiot!" Courtney said as she slapped her friend across the face.

"Wait, did you say Thomas?" Shuhei asked, catching onto the key word.

"No, I didn't. I said Trace," Corey defended.

"No, you did say Thomas!" Rukia pointed out, taking the side of her friend.

"Is there anything else your keeping from us?" Renji questioned.

"Well we can explain it to you after the battle," Courtney sighed, "just please stop saying that name."

…

"I am not pressured by it anymore. Sure I can feel it, but it's not crushing me," Ichigo said inside his head.

"Get up on your feet. If this was a real battle I would have finished you while you were on the ground," the teen formally known as Trace mocked.

"Sorry, you're evolved form just startled me," Ichigo stated as he rose to his feet. He dusted himself off then picked up his sword. That's when a bigger surprise struck him.

"Oh no, this is just the first, or as you know it "initial" release," Trace explained but Ichigo was too busy checking himself out to notice.

"Whoa, when did I change back to this attire?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"You just noticed? Well one of Fawks' special abilities is that when he changes forms, no matter which way on the chain it goes to, it cancels out all other grim reapers' powers. Pretty handy at times, annoying at others," Trace elaborated.

"I found you at last!" a female voice declared.

"Crap!" Trace shouted.

"Who's there?" Ichigo called out.

"All in due time little boy," the mystery woman giggled.

The two reapers soon joined the rest of the group, totally forgetting about the battle at hand. If this was an enemy, this was no time to be fighting amongst each other. Although Ichigo was sure that he could take Trace out in a heartbeat.

"I finally found you Thomas! Give back what you stole!" the woman demanded.

"Thomas? Does she mean your MOD soul?" Ichigo questioned, obviously the only one who doesn't know, or haven't figured out the truth yet.

"No, she means me," Trace sighed as he name now changed to Thomas in Ichigo's eyes.

"Why you?" the other teen wanted to know.

"Over there, look," Orihime pointed to the clock in the middle of the park. There, towering over the whole area was a lean and slim woman. She had long blue hair, tied back into a pony tail that reached all the way to the bottom of her back. She was wearing black boots that reached to the bottom of her knees. Small tight shorts that barely covered anything. She had a black corset on that had red bars decorated in that circle hypnotic pattern on each breast and the stomach. To top it all off, she wore brown leather biker gloves, and a black sweatshirt that had fur at the end of the arms and around the collar.

"Give back what you stole you bad man," she pleaded as she pointed at Thomas.

"I didn't take anything!" he defended.

"What did he take?" Shuhei asked, not knowing who to believe.

"The phoenix power. He took if from a very dear friend of mine, and I am here to get it back," she told him, trying to sound sympathetic to appeal to everyone's emotion.

"Stop saying that you bitch! You're the one who is trying to take his power!" Courtney defended.

"Bitch? Such harsh words," she started to tear up.

"Just give her your sword," Renji ordered.

"No, you don't understand, he can't do that," Corey told him.

"Why not? If he is a thief, then giving it back would just solve everything," Rukia explained like it wasn't common sense.

"Come on, I am asking nicely," she pleaded some more.

"Just do it," the foreigner tried to convince Thomas to give up his blade.

"No! She's a member of the Roserade Crusaders. The only way she found us was that they tabooed my name!" Thomas shouted. Corey, Shuhei, and Rukia gasped louder than the rest of the group. They were the ones who said the name that allowed the woman to find them.

"You mean she's one of those humans who can use the power of the grim reapers," Shuhei asked.

"Yes, they don't follow the same restrictions as reapers do," Courtney tried to explain.

"Care to elaborate?" Ichigo questioned.

"Well members of the Crusaders can use any of the reapers' powers. The moment they get ahold of one of our soul swords they have access to every power and ability that person has. Since Thomas' has the strongest know power, that of the phoenix, they been trying to get their hands on it," she elaborated.

"Meaning if they get his sword, they're unstoppable," Renji so kindly pointed out.

"Yes that is indeed our plan. I was hoping to use you foreigners to do my business, but you utterly failed me," she sighed. "Although that girl with the orange hair has an interesting ability that we can use among our ranks."

"I won't let you get your hands on her!" Ichigo warned.

"Like you can stop me!" She held up her arms above her head and crossed them. She opened her hands to reveal two marmalade color bottles. "Get a whiff of this bad boys! It's my perfume dance," she started to sway her hips from side to side, like a pendulum.

"What is that smell?" everyone asked.

"Enchanting Vertigo!" everyone dropped to their knees, almost paralyzed. Well everyone except the girls.

"No way," Orihime gasped.

"She took out all the guys," Rukia chocked on her words.

"I'll take her out!" Courtney announced as she grabbed her soul dispenser. The mysterious woman placed a ring on her pinky and tugged at it. She pulled out what seemed like a blade attached to a string.

"We'll have none of that," she said as she spun her blade and launched it at Courtney. Before the pill could be popped, the dispenser was cut in half. After hitting its target, the blade was retracted.

"You had this all planned out, didn't you?" Courtney questioned.

"I did have some help from the boss," she laughed as the scent was still heavy in the air. Rukia quickly pulled out her dispenser as an attempt to fight, but the soul wouldn't pop.

"No! My MOD soul won't come out!" she cried.

"Yeah, after being used, it takes about half an hour to charge back," Courtney sighed as she knew Thomas forgot to tell them some of the important details of their toys.

"That means I'm the only one who can fight," Orihime squealed. She wasn't a fighter. Hell, she could barely support from the side lines. When Ichigo went to rescue her, she couldn't even help him fight. Sure she protected him from one of Ulquiorra's strongest attacks in Hueco Mundo, but that all she could do. Her heart is not strong enough for battle.

"You must do something Orihime," the two remain girls and the struggling guides pleaded. Orihime looked at them, but there was no way she could have the strength to attack the strange woman. Wait a minute, who said she had to attack? One of her abilities is to cut through just about anything.

"I got an idea," she smiled, not knowing if it would work. "Koten Zanshun (Solitary Sacred Cutting Shield! Cut through the scent. I reject!" she called out her attack. An orange petal like blade sprinted out from her head and shot through the air. It cut right through the center of the perfume that is wafting through the air. Sadly, it didn't have much of an effect.

"Sorry, but I give you an "A" for effort though," the blue hair woman laughed. "Hold still, that would make capturing you so much easier." She place a different ring on and tugged at that. This time it was a chain of multiple blades.

"They know the potential her powers can reach. If they change the aspect of her personality, her powers will be unbeatable. They will rival my own," Thomas thought as he tried to dispel the fumes. Ichigo had a determined look in his eye. He must be thinking along the sames lines as everyone else was. The wind started to pick up which weakened the scent if only by a little bit. Then out of the blue, a big whirlwind whipped up in the middle of the battlefield, dispersing of the perfume that plagued the heroes.

"No not her," the mysterious woman thought as she noticed the wind.

"Rae's here," Thomas shouted as he got up. Everyone soon rose. Now everyone could fight since the burden was lifted.

"Rachel's here?" Courtney and Corey asked and cheered.

"So we meet again Vivian," the red headed woman who appeared chuckled.

"Ugh, Rachel," she gagged.

"Thanks," Orihime said, bowing. She was happy now that their faiths didn't rest on her.

"Don't thank me. You needed rescuing and I was in the area," she bluntly stated.

"We been over this many times, its Vivi," Vivi growled Spinning both blades on her pinky.

"I don't care. Let's dance," Rachel invited. Vivi launched herself off the clock and swung her left blade at Rachel. With a flashy movement, the reaper was able to parry it with her blade. With a dodge roll, the blue haired girl rolled under Rachel and got back on her feet. With a swing of her right arm, she wrapped her other blade chain around the orange hair girl. Orihime screamed.

"Although I didn't get exactly what I wanted, I found a nice consolation prize to make up this shame to my boss. Au revoir!" She threw several smalls balls to the ground. In that puff of smoke, she was gone.

"ORIHIME!" Ichigo cried out.

Preview for chapter 14:

Orihime has been captured and now it's time to go all out to rescue her. The only thing they need now is a clue on how to find the rest of the Roserade Crusaders.


	14. Patience!

Author's note: Sorry for the lack of updating. It took a while to write this chapter even though it was suppose to be up last week. Also sorry for the lack of action, this sets up the plot for the next few chapters. Bear with me. Soon I will start using descriptions for the people if there weren't so many people to write for. Review after you read, Jesus would do it.

**Chapter 14: Patience! **

The gang stood in silence for a while. Depression hung around them, intensifying the feeling of guilt and shame. How could they just lay there and let her be taken? Sure, they could blame it on the blue-haired mistress (technically it is her fault), what with her Perfume Dance which was followed by her Enchanting Vertigo, but that didn't seem like it was worth it. After all, who would want to admit that they had been taken out by a wannabe go-go dancer and some strong scented perfume?

"We have to get her back!" Ichigo demanded, being the first one to break the awkward silence.

"We will," Thomas tried to reassure him, "just not sure how yet." The confidence was missing from his voice.

"You know, this is all your fault!" Rukia scolded him and the Americans. "You could have told us the dangers we were facing and the whole taboo thing from the beginning, then we wouldn't have been in this mess!"

"Aye," Thomas lowered his head.

"Leave him alone!" Rachel defended, "He was only trying to be helpful and not scare you guys off. Sure he wasn't up front about every little detail, but then again who is? I'm willing to bet my life that all of you have something to hide."

"Thanks Rei," Thomas shot a sympathetic look at his friend. (The whole different version of Rae is an inside joke)

"So what if we are hiding a few things as well? It's only natural. After all, trust has to be earned. It's not given at the start," Renji added.

"Whose side are you defending?" Courtney questioned. "Your argument can work both ways. Also, you're wrong on the whole trust issue. Trust is given from the start, but has to be earned once it is lost."

"Well my side naturally," was all the red head could respond to with a confused look upon his face.

"Let's all stop fighting and come up with a course of action," Shuhei ordered.

"You're right," Ichigo agreed, "above all we need to get Orihime back at any cost."

"Any idea of why they would want someone like her?" Corey inquired.

"No idea," Rukia answered with a sigh.

"Does she have any special powers or abilities?" Rachel continued with the interrogation.

"Of course she does. Why else would she be here with us?" Renji asked like the answer was obvious.

"Probably the same reason Yugi took his friends everywhere he went," Thomas thought, but decided against sharing this idea.

"I think you misunderstood her question," Courtney suggested.

"What do you mean?" Rukia wanted to know.

"She means that girl is not a fighter. We all picked up on it, but it would have be impolite to call her out on it," Thomas tried to explain. "Does she have any grim or 'soul' reaper powers?"

"Well from what I understand, her ability is that close to time manipulation," Shuhei threw out.

"What?" the American gasped. This came as a surprise to their guest.

"That's right, they haven't seen her use her powers yet," Rukia remembered and pointed out to the others.

"Care to elaborate about what her powers pertain?" Courtney wondered.

"It's kind of hard to explain," Ichigo said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Just do your best," Rachel encouraged.

"Well you see," he started, "kind of like, well its strength comes from her emotions and it allows..." his ranting continued on.

"Oh Ichigo, you have such a way with words," Courtney sarcastically flirted.

"That's useful," Corey huffed. No one could tell if he was being sarcastic or serious about that.

"Guess all we can do is return to the house and plan out a strategy or something," Thomas suggested, "and hope our enemy makes a move soon."

"We are going to have to wait?" Ichigo asked like this was news to him. "But we haven't got any time to lose!"

"Sorry Ichi, but when they appear, all of their presences can be felt and vice versa. So we have to wait for their next appearance before we can even make a move," he explained.

"Seriously?" he questioned while Thomas nodded his head.

"Besides, it's getting late and it's a school night. One of you guys has to inform Manikha about our current situation we've found ourselves in," Thomas pointed towards Courtney and Corey, while Rachel so gracefully side stepped out of the way.

"Why us?" they wondered.

"She goes to your school, not mine," Thomas boasted. Then they turned their attention to Rachel.

"Don't look at me, I go to college," she giggled as they let out a deep sigh.

"That's weird. You guys don't go to the same school?" Rukia asked. "All of Ichigo's friends that have some sort of powers go to his." (Think about what she is saying and tell me if you don't want to slap some common sense into her.)

"We all used to but things happen," Courtney explained to her.

"Then what do you do when you need help, backup, or something like that?" Rukia had to ask again.

"There's more than one way to get a hold of someone," Corey explained while pulling out his iPhone as a visual aid. "Sometimes we call or text each other using the power of the cell phone."

"Funny," Ichigo mocked, "but there no need to to talk down to us. We've all got phones of our own."

"Yes, but we get service here," Rachel added.

"Well," Ichigo thought as he whipped his out, "I get a signal here too!"

"Stupid Japanese technology being ten years ahead of ours," the American cursed.

"Well, ours are iPhones so we win," Corey boasted.

"You think you win just because your phone has a piece of fruit on it?" Renji asked, even though he had no idea what was exactly going on.

"No," Thomas told them, "we win because it has an _apple _on it."

"What so special about the apple?" Rukia questioned.

"The apple is god," Corey gasped at her blasphemy.

"Get out of my country!" Courtney ordered.

"Speaking of which, what is so special about the iPhone?" Renji dog piled his question to that of Rukia's. Ichigo and Shuhei took it from the reaction of the Americans not to get involved.

"The iPhone has apps and it can do just about anything," Corey tried to explain.

"Need to bust some hollows?" Thomas rhetorically asked, "there's an app for that!"

"Hey! That's my line," Corey tried to scold his friend.

"It's my story!" Thomas defended, which won him the argument.

The sun started to set faster as the moon slowly rose in the sky. Thomas took their Japanese friends (minus Rukia) back to his house to rest up. After all, it had been a long strange day. On the walk home to fill in the awkward silence that comes with thought, he told them that they had to tag along with him to school. Meanwhile, Rukia decided to tag along with Rachel, since she didn't want to be going home with a bunch of guys. What you don't know is that she really wanted to have some "girl time" that she heard rumors about.

…

"Where am I?" a familiar girl's voice faintly questioned. Slowly opened her eyes, realizing that she was in an unknown place. Truly the nightmare-ish things couldn't have really happened. Scared as she was, she knew that she had to some how get back or at least contact the others. A door slowly opened, letting some light into the room.

"I see you're awake," a stern female voice stated. Just the sound alone, sent chills down her spine. A hand entered through the ajar door and touched the wall right next to the opening. With a flick of a switch, the light turned on. The girl looked around the room but was shocked by what she saw. The said room in question was just an explosion of pink, and nothing was safe. Sure the coloring was weird and the patterns were unique, but this was going too far, even by her standards.

"You're the one known as Orihime I presume," the stern female voice stated as a shadowy figure entered the room.

"Yes," the girl could barely answer. Compared to her, the stranger was a small girl, but why was she so terrifying?

"My name is Angelica," the stranger politely introduced herself, bow and all. This time Orihime made sure to analyze a potential enemy. She was a small girl, there's no hiding it now. Probably no taller than five feet. She had shining blond hair that seemed to produce a glowing aura all by itself, and the hair was done up in pigtails. The hair that hung from the hair ties was curled so it looked like she had triangular shaped hair emerging from her head. He skin was snow white while her lips were red as blood. She was wearing black leather boots that ended just below the knee. She wore something similar to that of a French's maid outfit. Around her wrist were shackle like cuffs with a few chain lengths hanging down with the chain broken at the end. Despite this Gothic appeal, she had a positive and upbeat attitude, while her soulless black eyes said otherwise.

"What do you want from me?" Orihime questioned, still stricken with terror.

"I want your love," Angelica smiled. "Don't worry, our master will explain everything to you."

…

"You can't be serious," Ichigo gasped.

"When you told us, I thought you were joking," Renji confessed.

"It can't be true, please tell me it is not true," Shuhei panicked.

"That's right, you guys are going to school with me," Thomas informed these guys, although he didn't want it to happen just as much as they didn't. "By state law, since all of you guys are under eighteen, you have to go to school."

"Great, six days a week of our lives we will never get back," they complained.

"School is only five days over here," Thomas corrected them.

"Oh," they let out a sigh of relief.  
"Well ten hours a day is still pretty rough," Ichigo and Renji complained. Shuhei on the other hand had barely any public school experience.

"It's only eight here," Thomas corrected them yet again, except this time all he got was an 'oh' in response. "Sadly our educational system sucks compared to other countries."

"I can clearly see that," Ichigo muttered.

"Well I have to use the computer for a little while," Thomas told them as he suddenly got up, "Make sure you wash up and get to bed at a decent hour." With that said he left.

"What is his problem?" Renji whispered to Ichigo, but then realized that it wasn't needed.

"I'll go have a talk with him," Shuhei sighed as he got up and left the room. "Make sure you do what he told you." As Shuhei left the room, he realized that leaving Renji and Ichigo alone by themselves was a bad idea, but that didn't matter now.

Preview for chapter fifteen:

Can the gang survive the American school system at the same time while the crusaders make their move?


	15. School Blows!

Author's note: Just to let you know, some of these classes and scenarios are based on actually things that happened to me during my school life. I'll leave it up to you to determine what grade they are in. Wow I just noticed that I had a lot of guy teachers, weird. Sorry for the short chapter, but in the next one we get a flashback so it should be longer. Please review after you read.

**Chapter 15: School Blows!**

"Take these!" Thomas told them as he threw small plastic cards at them. "These are your student identification cards, and on the back is your class schedule. I made sure to put you guys in the same classes as me so I can keep an eye on you all. Especially you two trouble makers." He pointed at the red and orange headed teens.

"Do we have to wear these?" Renji asked looking at the picture of him on the small plastic card.

"Yes, as long as it is somewhere on the upper torso," he answered.

"Sounds like common sense to me, but why does the rule emphasize that?" Ichigo wondered.

"A few bad apples decided that the rule was below them and they started to wear their I.D.s on their crotch," their host answered.

"That sucks. Why do I want people to identify me?" Shuhei asked checking the class list.

"School rules, not mine," he answered.

"Doesn't matter," Ichigo stated, "Where are our uniforms?"

"There aren't any; just wear anything," Thomas answered although confused to why someone will willingly want to suffer the horrors of uniforms. Afterward, they quickly left the house since they were going to be late if they wasted anymore time.

"Sorry," both Ichigo and Renji apologized on the walk to school.

"What for?" Thomas asked.

"Making us late," the strawberry blond teen replied.

"If we knew all of this in advance, things would be different. It's no reason to be in a bad mood," Renji added, but after some thought, soon regretted his words.

"That's not the reason why I'm in a bad mood," the teen with the shaggy black hair explained. "Although them are fighting words," echoed throughout the teen's head.

"Then why," Shuhei curiosity got the better of him, even though he did not like to get caught in between people problems.

"For starters, it's Monday," he sighed, "and to top it all off, I'm not a morning person."

"You're hardly a person person as it is," Ichigo remarked, then got a dirty look in return. After a few minutes of walking in silence they had arrived at the school.

**SCHOOL DAY**

**1st Period: US History**

"With the dropping of the atomic bomb, American forces discouraged the Japanese from attacking us any further. Any questions?" the middle aged male teacher asked his students with a grimace on his face. The foreign students' faces were filled with horror.

"I remember that day," Shuhei sighed as it brought back painful memories of the past. "Don't you Renji?" he questioned.

"Now that you mentioned it, I do," the red head responded back. "There were a lot of spirits to send to the Soul Society and a lot of hollows to cleanse and exorcise."

**2nd Period: French**

"Bonjour class!" the teacher happily greeted the class as he walked to the front of the room.

"Bonjour," the class mindlessly responded back as per the morning ritual.

"Ca va?" the teacher excitedly asked his follow up question.

"Ca va bien," mindlessly the class answered back.

"Whoa slow down sir," Ichigo stated, "It's like your speaking a different language."

"Really Ichigo?" Thomas shook his head and sighed.

**3rd Period: Physics**

"Here your worksheets," the young, well-built, male teacher plainly stated as he passed out the papers. "The equation you will need is on the board. Don't bother me and get to work."

"Isn't he going to explain to us how we should use it or anything like that?" Ichigo whispered to Thomas.

"No. That would involve teaching," he sarcastically, but truthfully responded.

"Is there something you will like to share with the class?" the physic teacher asked from his desk across the room.

"No sir," Ichigo replied, "That is why I whispered."

**4th Period: Driver's Ed**

"Then the train slammed into the side of the car, slicing though it fiercely like a knife, thus killing the family inside. That class is why we check before crossing the railroad tracks," the male coach of a teacher smiled. This story made the whole class speechless, which is a hard thing to do.

"That is also why we never ask questions in this class as well," Thomas explained to his friends who face's were pale. Sure they dealt with death everyday, but nothing like this.

**Lunch**

The four emerged from the lunch line, each carrying a tray of questionable food. They searched around for a bit until they found and empty table. The quickly sat down before anyone could claim it.

"What is wrong with your school?" the three foreign students tried to interrogated their host.

"It's a poor, government funded public school. Sorry if it doesn't have the fancy learnings your school system has," he answered. His friends couldn't tell if he was being serious or sarcastic with this reply. (Yes the bad grammar was intended.) "Don't worry though, the second half of the day is going to be a lot better."

"It better be," Renji scowled. Shuhei was sitting out of the conversation, looking lost as he was stabbing his "mystery" food with a spork.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Not really. I am trying to figure out what this food is exactly is," he slowly answered while he continued poking the food.

"If you poke it anymore, you'll upset the food and it will attack you," Thomas thought he should mention. They all looked at him. He must be joking this time, right? Even though this food look horrible, there is no way it should be alive.

"You're kidding right?" Renji was brave enough to ask, although he was a bit cautious about it too.

"Mostly," Thomas smugly responded as he started to eat his food.

"How can you eat this crap?" Ichigo questioned, still trying to figure out what it was along side Shuhei.

"Quite simple really. Fork, food, mouth, chew, swallow, repeat," he smirked.

"Asshole," echoed throughout Renji and Ichigo's minds.

"Smartass," Shuhei smirked as he took his first bite.

"It's one of the few ways to survive in hell," Thomas told them.

**5th Period: English**

"Something is not right in here," the English teacher stated as she entered the room. Leave it to her of all people to notice that new students were in the room.

"Whatever could it be?" asked one of the female students in a sarcastic tone of voice. She noticed the new students but she really didn't care.

"It seems like we have more students in here than we normally do," the teacher responded as she looked around the room.

"That's crazy," Thomas chuckled trying to cover up the fact that she was right. After all going from twelve to fifteen students is a dramatic increases for anyone to notice. "You're crazy."

"That may be so, but you know who else is crazy?" she asked.

"Who?" asked one of the random male students in the class.

"Hamlet!" she dramatically expressed as she started the lesson for the day.

**6th Period: Psychology **

At this point of the day, everyone was losing interest in this backwards school. The room was dark with the only light emitting from the LCD projector. Thomas was spacing out as he stared at the ceiling lost in though, or asleep. Shuhei was randomly scribbling in a small notebook while the doublemint twins were arguing but trying to keep quite about it.

"Sigmund Freud believed that all psychological problems boil down to sex," the teacher announced trying to get everyone's attention. It didn't work as well as she thought so she continued to mutter on since no one was going to take notes anyways.

"You hear that guys," Shuhei muttered as he leaned forward to the bickering Soul Reapers.

"Hear what?" they both asked in an annoyed tone of voice.

"All your fighting is from a lack of sex," he chuckled causing his other two friends to freak out.

**7****th**** Period: Government**

This classroom was dark as well, but this time the lights came from the Christmas lights that lined the walls and dangled from the ceiling, but barely illuminating the dark place. The teacher sat on top of the big desk that was in front of the room, with her legs crossed.

"Is this all we're going to do?" Renji asked very disgruntled.

"Please refrain from talking during our meditation time!" the teacher politely scolded. She picked up a text book that was lying next to her and she tossed it at the student. Renji let out a yelp of pain letting the teacher know she hit the bulls-eye.

"That should shut him up for a while," Shuhei commented as Thomas nodded in agreement.

**8th Period: Theater **

"Finally, the last class of the day," the teens cheered as they entered the room.

"Hope the teacher isn't as crazy as all the others," Shuhei commented.

"I hope so too, but I wouldn't hold my breath," Ichigo sighed.

"Why is that?" Renji asked.

"Well this school is pretty messed up as it is already, and there is a patter that all of the teachers get crazier the more we progress through the day," the orange hair teen did his best to explain.

"This isn't something you forgot to explain to us, isn't it?" Renji questioned Thomas.

"No, teachers are crazy in general," he replied. Renji knew that would be the best answer he got. They all took their seats as the bell rang. The class sat in silence for a few minutes until the door swung open and someone came walking in. Their teacher came in the room and was holding a round, red, rubber ball in his hand.

"Today we are going to play kick ball!" the teacher excitedly announced which was followed by the class who erupted in cheers.

"Awesome! I haven't played this game since I was little," Ichigo happily stated.

"This game was band in the Soul Society long ago, I barely remember playing it," Shuhei smiled.

"How does kickball even get banned?" Thomas felt the urge to inquire.

"It just got really destructive when our powers got added into the mix," Renji explained which caused a little fear to appear on Thomas' face.

"Oh wow, I would hate to see how you guys play dodgeball," the American teen commented. The whole class rushed outside and practically ran to the baseball field.

"Let's reenact the baseball scene from Twilight," one of the girls screamed.

"Hell no!" a guy told her. If a stranger appeared on campus and saw this, they would probably think that these kids haven't had fun in a long time. In fact it may make prison look like a vacation. Thomas pulled his new friends aside.

"I guess it goes without say, but I'm going to tell you anyways. Under no circumstances are you allowed to use any powers whatsoever during the game," he explained.

Preview for chapter 16:

The kickball game starts and Thomas' recollects a painful memory of his past. When a member of the crusaders appears and ruins the fun for gang, they have a battle on their hands.


	16. Memories!

Author note: Sorry for lack of updates yet again. School and senior year get in the way a lot. So here my new chapter, I hope you enjoy it (although it is rather short). Please review after you read.

**Chapter 16: Memories **

"Here the pitch!" Renji announced as he gripped the tight, red, rubber ball. He held it above his head and swung his arm back, releasing the ball at a high speed. The orange headed teenager was at bat. He had his right leg stretched back, waiting for the ball to come his way.

"That was a weak throw," Ichigo insulted as he kicked the ball, sending it flying to the woods behind the field.

"Idiots," Shuhei and Thomas sighed as they were in charge of covering the outfield.

"I told you kids not to play too rough! This field is for little kid! It wasn't meant for us older folks to be playing on it!" The teacher scolded the two hot head before they broke out into a fight. Needless to say, they were kicked out of the game.

"Don't worry Mr. Wire," Thomas reluctantly called out, "I got it." He waved his hand and chased after the ball.

"Just so you know we have another one," the teacher tried to tell the teen, but it was too late, he was already gone. Shuhei sighed and took of in the direction Thomas did, hopefully he would be able to stop him before he got too far. If all else failed, at least two pairs of eyes would be better at searching than one.

"Oh, here it is," Thomas said to himself as he was deep inside the forested area. It was lying in the middle of a clearing that was heavily surrounded by trees. He ran over and picked it up. A snapping twig was heard in the distance, causing the teen to turn around. He saw a shadow running towards him, so he threw the ball back to the ground and quickly pulled out a strange medallion. The strange medal shinned bight gold in the sunlight, and a skull wearing a hat and crossbones could be seen.

"Chill out," the mysterious shadow called out as it came into view, "its only me."

"Hisagi?" Thomas asked as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes," the other teen answered. "By any chance, you weren't planning to attack me were you?"

"Oh heavens no," The shaggy black hair teen answered, "I might have." (In case you were wondering, Thomas didn't fix his hair, so instead of the spikyness we are all accustomed to, we get shaggy hair.)

"I was just on guard. After all, this forest is known for attracting unwanted visitors."

"I see your point," the spiky hair teen nodded, "Where did you get that strange medallion? I thought you used a MOD-soul to transform"

"Yes I do, but school a different story," he chuckled.

"Why don't I believe that?" Shuhei wanted to question, but thought it would be better not to asked that. At least out loud.

"Why don't you grab the ball and we can head out of here, otherwise we might attracted unneeded attention," Thomas suggested.

"What the rush? Lets stay for a minute," Shuhei told his peer, "there something enchanting about this forest."

"Of course," the shaggy hair teen sarcastically chuckled (yes that is possible). "I can see why you want to stay here, this place does hold some memories for me.

"By any chance does it have to deal with that strange medal your holding?" Shuhei asked.

"Yes it does," the teen answered, confused as to where this was going.

What about your sword, Bruno?"

"Yes, him too."

"How about the fact that Bruno doesn't belong to you?" Shuhei asked, knowing full well that he might have over stepped his bounds.

"You knew about that? What a bad boy. How were you able to tell?"

"I can sense a faint spirit energy emitting from the sword that is over powered by your own. Almost like you are trying to cover up the fact it belongs to someone else."

"Wow, that is scary accurate. Indeed Bruno originally belonged to a friend of mine. Listen closely, I am about to tell you something that I haven't told any other friend," Thomas sighed, but there was a sense of relief and happiness.

**One and a half years ago**

_ "Hey Thomas!" a voice called out to the teen who was lounging on the bleachers, listening to his ipod. The teen had heard a voice call out to him but he wasn't to sure. He lazily turned his head to the side to see who it was that was bothering him. _

"_Oh, hey Jerry," he acknowledge the person who was addressing him. Jerry was a tall, skinny, tanned teen. He had short black hair that was styled straight forward leading to a point at the front of his head. As for attire, he had blue jeans and a white t-shirt that hugged his chest. Then there was cop like sunglasses covering his eyes, so it was hard to see his expression. _

"_Are you going to play kickball with us today," Jerry innocently asked, causing Thomas to sigh._

"_Why should I, none of the people in the class like me," was the best excuse Thomas could think of. _

"_Well if you weren't all anti-social and acted like you were better than everyone, maybe they would like you more," Jerry shot down the excuse._

"_I am not anti-social, I'm anti-idiot," Thomas said, running out of excuses and defenses._

"_Too bad, I am taking you against your will," Jerry told him as he grabbed the other teen by the wrist and pulled him off the bleachers and dragging him to the kiddie field everyone was playing on._

"_Glad you can join us," the teacher remarked to the presence of Thomas entering the field. Thomas was preparing to say something sarcastic, but Jerry shot him a dirty look to discourage him._

"_Well it looked like so much fun, I hate myself for not getting involved sooner," Thomas commented._

"_Was that sincere?" Jerry and the teacher both asked at the same time. Thomas paused and though about it for a few seconds, "I think it was," he told them. They both stared in disbelief as Thomas walked up to the plate._

"_So the little emo boy decided to play?" joked the teen with the long blond hair at the pitcher mound. He tossed the ball, sending it at a high speed. Thomas blankly stared at the ball and kicked t with his left foot as soon as it got close to him. The force of the kick sent the ball back at the pitcher, hitting him in the face and knocking him down._

"_Sorry Stephen, I guess I am to emo to know what I am doing," the shaggy hair (although it is less shaggy at this point in time) smirked. The blond teen quickly got us and rubbed away the pain that was pounding against his face._

"_So you wanna play that way?" Stephen asked as he picked up the ball. After several revolutions, he tossed the ball again, sending it at least at twice the speed as the first toss. Thomas stared at the ball and quickly kicked it. To his and everyone's amazement, he knocked it out of the park and sent it flying into the wood._

"_That a home run, but you have to go get the ball," Stephen cursed. Thomas let out a huge sigh and ran towards the gate that was separating the field and woods._

"_How many time do I have to tell you kids...!" the teacher began to rant as he went to go fetch the second ball. Clearly this happened far too many times if he is prepared like that._

"_Wait Thomas," Jerry tried to get the teen to come back but he was out of ear shot, causing him to go running after the other teen._

_ "No way," Thomas gasped in aw, "how could this be possible." Th teen looked around and saw a perfect, circular, clearing surrounded by trees in the middle of the forest. There, practically waiting for him, was the red kickball, practically begging to be taken._

"_There you are Thomas," the tanned teen shouted as he appeared out of nowhere._

"_Jerry, what are you doing here," Thomas wondered._

"_I came to stop you from getting the ball," he answered._

"_Why?" the shaggy hair teen questioned._

"_This place is dangerous for people like you."_

"_People like me? What are you talking about?"_

"_I can't explain it, but just trust me."_

"_I am not going anywhere until you tell me the truth!"_

"_Trust me!"_

"_Tell me!" _

"_JUST TRUST ME!" as Jerry shouted out his words, the ground began to shake. BEEP! Jerry's cell phone began to ring off the hook. The tanned teen picked it up. Thomas tried to ease drop, but all he could pick up was "S-class", "Hollow", and "precede with caution". Leaves began to rustle, and a few trees were bent back and a dark tentacle like thing emerged from the shadows._

"_What is that thing?" a fear stricken Thomas asked._

"_I was hoping you wouldn't be able to see it, I'll explain everything later, but right now I need a favor," Jerry responded. _

"_Sure," Thomas said, not quite sure of how to respond to the situation anymore._

"_Watch over my body," Jerry smirked as he hugged Thomas._

"_What do you mean?" he asked as Jerry's body went limp. In a burst of light another Jerry appeared out of his friend. Thomas watched in amazement. This "new" Jerry was wearing all black, semi-formal attire, with a white scary wrapped around his neck once with the two ends resting on his back side. If there was any wind, his scarf would be acting like a super hero's cape. The shaggy hair teen then made note of the golden hilted blade with blue wrapping around it. _

"_Thanks buddy," the "super" Jerry thanked._

"_What in the world are you?" the teen wondered as he fell to the ground. He laid Jerry's body flat on the ground and he simply sat there, pondering what exactly was going on._

_ A few more trees were bent back and more black tentacles emerged. With a swing of his blade, Jerry managed to cut them all. It seemed that his efforts were in vain as they quickly grew back. The ground shook some more, signally the arrival of the monster. Both Jerry and the other kid were shocked by what they saw. It was a giant octopus with a skull helmet, and eight tentacles wiggling about like they were no one's business. _

_ "Why is there a hollow hear?" Jerry thought to himself, but that didn't matter now, because he didn't the luxury of time to think about these things right now. The hollow let out a bubbly roar and it attacked. The tentacles flew passed Jerry and headed straight for Thomas. Jerry slashed with his sword just in time to save the teen. "It can't be because of him." _

"_What is that thing after me?" Thomas need to know, as he grabbed his friends body and ran a few feet back._

"_Your spirit energy," Jerry told him as he saw the tentacles regenerate, "I'll explain everything later."_

"_I'll hold you to that," the teen told the hero. _

"_I don't have time to play Mr. Octopus wanna be," Jerry scoffed. "Evolve Bruno!"_

"_Evolve?" Thomas wondered. He saw the blade glow then when the light dissipated, it was like the sword was made out of crystal. _

"_Shatter!" Jerry mumbled as the sword broke into a million little pieces. The hollow drew back it tentacles and prepared for another attack. "Diamond dust!" A gust of wind that glittered like a rainbow blew at the hollow, each shard piece slashing the monster. The hollow split into a million pieces. The victory didn't last long those since the fowl beast so regenerated it own body._

"_No way!" both teens gasped. Thomas then saw the look on Jerry's face, and noticed that this phenomenon was strange, even to him. That when a light caught him in his eye. _

"_This is strange," Jerry commented as he called back his sword to him, "this has never happened to me before. What do I do?" he went over in his head, but he had nothing prepared for this. _

_ Thomas, now overlooking Jerry's body, saw some strange gold coin like thing in his hand. He quickly reached out to grab it and he cheered when he finally had it in his own hand. He was also happy no one was watching this, otherwise they might find him in a compromising position. Thomas arose to his feet, and clench the medal in both of his hands. _

_ "I have to help my friends," he said aloud in his mind. Then, it was as if instinct took over. Thomas slammed the medallion against his chest causing his body to fall to the ground. "No way," he gasped in aw, " I am wearing the same thing as Jerry, minus the scarf." He checked himself out and noticed the sword attached to his side. A loud screech could be heard in Thomas' mind. He knew what he had to do._

Preview for chapter 17:

Thomas' flashback continues as he discovers he has power's of his own. Although to his dismay, this newly found powers causes much strife and and the life of his very own friend.


	17. Fade!

Author's note: School's out for the summer so I am going to spend most of my free time writing so I can finish out the stories before heading to college. Just be warned that the writing may suffer if I finally get employed again. So enjoy this new chapter and don't forget to review after you read.

**Chapter 17: Fade...I Call Your Name!**

_"No, no, no, no. Oh no!" Jerry gasped as he saw the other teen's body slowly collapse on the ground. "This is exactly what I was trying to prevent." This thought kept echoing throughout his mind._

"_Look, I'm a fighter too," Thomas innocently chuckled. The enemy hollow growled. A few seconds had passed, until an anguish scream emitted from the new reaper._

"_What's wrong?" Jerry asked, struggling to pick himself up a little._

"_There's...there's this screeching in my head," the other teen answered as he collapsed onto his knees. Jerry's faces almost went pale when he heard this piece of news._

"_It can't be! The sword, it's trying to tell him its name already. It's too soon! Didn't he just discover his powers? I don't know what to do, I have never been placed in this situation before," the tanned teen continued to struggle to get up, but it was too painful to move. _

"_How do I make it stop?" Thomas asked the more experienced reaper._

"_Puny reapers! My tentacles secrete a special slime that induces paralysis. It is useless to struggle, and soon its effects will take place on the other one too and then I will eat you both!" the hollow laughed._

"_Damnit!" the reaper cursed, "Why am I so useless?"_

"_Make it stop!" Thomas screamed before finally becoming quiet._

_[The sky is pitch black with bright white clouds circling a luminous full moon. Stars also litter the sky in the empty spaces between the clouds. Alone stands one mountain that pierces the sky. There is a flat surface at the very top instead of the normal point. On top of the flat surface sits a giant nest. _

_"Where am I?" Thomas thought to himself as he awoke in a bird's nest. He stood up and saw a giant white egg in front of him. "What's this?" he questioned as he walked over to it. With one poke, the egg cracked causing the teen to take a couple steps back. The egg burst open which sent a giant flame shooting into the sky. The ball of fire hovered in the air for a few seconds before taking the shape of a giant bird._

"_I AM FAWKES, THE MIGHTY PHOENIX! YOU HAVE AWOKEN ME FROM MY SLUMBER! JUST CALL MY NAME AND I WILL BE AT YOUR ASSISTANCE!" the bird screeched._

"_Fawkes," Thomas muttered.]_

_"I know what I must do," Thomas said with a fierce determination that was reflected in his eye. _

"_No, don't fight Thomas," Jerry warned as he continued his struggle, "you don't know how to fight."_

"_That doesn't matter. You protected me and now I must repay the favor," the teen told his fallen friend as he pulled out his sword._

"_NO! STOP!" Jerry cried out, "THOMAS!"_

"_Rise from the ashes, Fawkes," Thomas muttered as he gripped his sword. In a matter of seconds, a red tent took over his clothing and he sword changed to a broad version with wings which connected the blade and the hilt._

"_DAMNIT!" Jerry cursed loudly as this was what he was trying to prevent from happening._

"_Time to die you monster," the teen smirked, but there was something off. It wasn't Thomas anymore; in fact, the spirit of the blade took over the body_

"_No! He called out the name too soon," Jerry thought, "He never learned that he was supposed to control it."_

"_Oh I see you have some fight left in you," the hollow mocked. "Okay kiddie, bring it on." The hollow launched several of its tentacles at the opposing teen, but Thomas easily dodged them like it was child's play. With a flick of his wrist, the teen sent a flying blade attack that cut the hollow into two different segments. Before the fiend had time to recover and regenerate, Thomas got in between the two parts and slammed his blade into the ground._

"_Fire Tower!" the teen muttered and a flame tower shot up and enveloped the hollow. "You were a fool to challenge me!" With a loud scream the shadowy figure vanished._

"_Way to go!" Jerry cheered as and he was suddenly free from the paralysis that the land octopus hollow inflicted, although he was still injured._

"_Why are you cheering? That small fry didn't fill my satisfaction for battle," Thomas complained. Jerry looked into the other teen's eyes, and saw a bright red ring around the iris. _

"_You're not Thomas!" he pointed out and held up his blade in a faux-defense attempt. _

"_No he's long gone; this body belongs to me now," the possessed teen chuckled. "Take this." _

"_Take what?" Jerry asked looking at the clenched fist before him. The other person opened it and Jerry saw a glowing, golden feather being offered to him._

"_Take this and fight me," the teen edged on._

"_I can't fight you, it wouldn't be right," Jerry protested. _

"_Well, I just wanted to make sure you put up a fight before I kill you," Fawkes laughed as he tossed the feather at the opposing teen. It touched Jerry and instantly restored him to perfect health and then some._

"_You want to attack me, but why?" Jerry questioned._

"_Well you looked like a skilled fighter, maybe you can quench my thirst for battle," the possessed teen responded. In a blink of an eye, he jumped back and landed a few feet away in battle position. "Here I come!" Fawkes launched himself at Jerry, wildly swinging his blade. Jerry, who was caught off guard, barely managed to block the attack. With some quick skill, he was able to parry just about every swing that was sent his way. _

"_Back off, I don't want to fight you!" Jerry warned as he was dodging blows that were sent directly at him. _

"_More like you can't!" the possessed teen mocked as he continued to swing. The assault continued and Jerry managed to hold his own. Then with one faithful swing by Thomas' hand, Jerry's blade shattered upon impact._

"_Pathetic," Fawkes stated, "you are not as strong as I gave you credit for. Sorry for overestimating you." The fragments surrounded Thomas' body._

"_More like you under estimated me!" Jerry smirked. With a snap of his fingers, the shards turned into blades, each pointed at the teen. There must have been hundreds. "Pierce through him!" The shards launched themselves at the possessed teen, but made a clanking metal noise upon impact. _

"_Shame your trump card didn't work!" the teen mocked the reaper as he appeared behind him, which caused Jerry to turn around. "I have the power of the Phoenix. Speed is among my prized traits."_

"_Return..." Jerry started to mutter but was interrupted. Within seconds, a blade pierced through his stomach and he was lifted into the air._

_"I wish I could say you died fighting bravely, but let's not kid ourselves; you hardly fought at all," Fawkes mocked. _

"_Thomas, please snap out of it," Jerry cried while looking down at his friend._

"_I thought I already told you, your friend isn't in here anymore," Fawkes laughed._

"_No," Jerry muttered with tears streaming down his eyes, "I know that he is still in there!" The tears started falling off his face._

"_Even if he was, there is no way you will ever see him again!"_

"_Please Thomas!" One of Jerry's tears hit the possessed teen's eye._

"_Jerry, I'm sorry," Thomas apologized as he regain his senses and slowly let Jerry down and pulled out his blade. "Forgive me; I don't know what happened to me."_

"_It's okay, I understand," Jerry accepted while clutching his bleeding stomach. _

"_No, I did some terrible things!" Thomas pleaded._

"_You weren't yourself. Don't worry, you'll be surprised how often this occurs," Jerry tired to explain to his guilt ridden friend but it didn't seem to work. _

"_If you allow me, I have an idea," Thomas said, trying to hold back his tears. _

"_I trust you," Jerry nodded. Thomas closed his hands and focused all his energy to produce a golden feather that Fawkes so easily could. It took a few seconds but at the cost of all his energy, Thomas managed to pull it off. Proud of his success, he placed it on Jerry and watched it sink into the teens body. Jerry started to glow and the wound began to heal all by itself. A few minutes had passed and the glow faded, letting Thomas know that Jerry was fully healed._

"_Are you okay?" Thomas inquired._

"_I'll be fine, but I need a favor from you," Jerry replied._

"_Anything."_

"_I want you to take Bruno," Jerry told him as he handed off the sword._

"_Why? Isn't that technically your soul? Would I be able to use it?"_

"_Yes, I transfer the power over to you, so it should be fine."_

"_Why are you giving it to me though?"_

"_Well it would seem that the damage you dealt me is killing me."_

"_What, but I healed you didn't I?_

"_You did, but I can still feel my life force draining away. If I don't get back to my body soon, I would have died twice."_

"_This can't be. Jerry, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to kill you."_

"_We all make mistakes as rookies. Just promise me you'll take my sword and think of me every time you use it."_

"_It's a promise," Thomas agreed shaking his hand. Jerry smirked, knowing that his fighting spirit is in good hands. Thomas carried Jerry to his body and placed him back into it before returning to his own._

"_Well it sure feels weird to be mortal. I don't know what I am going to do now that I am no longer a reaper," Jerry stated with a sigh of relief, one of those like a heavy burden was released from his shoulders. _

"_You could always join Ghost Hunters since your spiritual sense is still intact," Thomas jokingly suggested. The two teens laughed as they left the forest and headed back to the kick ball game._

"Whoa, that's an intense story," Shuhei remarked.

"Yeah, it's not something I go around telling everyone. I don't like feeling responsible for killing the first friend I made when I transferred over," Thomas confessed.

"If you don't take that into consideration, it's a very touching and moving story," a female voice sniff and wiped away a tear.

"Oh no, not her," Thomas sighed. He and Shuhei turned around to see a girl standing a few feet away from them.

"Who is she?" Shuhei asked. The woman who stood before them. She was almost as tall as Thomas, but looked no older than sixteen. She was wearing a short navy blue cocktail dress that ended just a little above the knees. She had charcoal gray boots that was cut off at the ankle, folded, so it wasn't the full length. She also had a sleeveless white trench coat almost cape like thing over her clothes that ended at the top of her boots. She had long, dirty blond hair that once it reach the shoulders, it magically floated to look like some heroine in an anime. She also had earrings that looked like giant eyes.

"That's Molly, a newer member of the Crusaders," Thomas introduced.

"Oh, thanks for the intro," she giggled, "but I am here to crush you and your little friend here."

"Look at her feet!" Shuhei pointed out. Thomas looked and saw that a small area was turned into a stone like substance.

"I still do that?" Molly blushed.

"Oh that," Thomas shrugged it off, "That's her power of crystallization. Everywhere she steps get crystallized, which makes it easier to track her." Thomas looked around.

"I see, but why are you looking around?" Shuhei wondered.

"I am checking our battle field Hisagi," Thomas answered which seemed like he was lying.

Preview for Chapter 18:

The battle between Molly and the reapers start. Although her power of crystallization is a strong and unusual one, she is weak without her guardian to protect her.


	18. A Once in a Lifetime Chance!

**Chapter 18: A Once in a Lifetime Chance**

"Leave her to me!" Thomas told Shuhei as he whipped out his badge.

"No! I'll fight too!" the other teen offered.

"That won't be necessary!" the first teen said with a fierce determination in his eyes. Obviously he wanted it more.

"What about your Kishido [way of the gentleman (like in Elemental where I used Bushido [way of the samurai].)?" Shuhei finally realized who he was addressing.

"I'll make an exception, besides I won't physically touch her so there's no problem there," the first teen tried to find an excuse.

"Oh you're the infamous gentleman reaper I've heard so much about," Molly was shocked by this revelation.

"That's right!" Thomas responded, "Wait, did she say infamous?"

"Then this will be a piece of cake. After all, a true gentleman wouldn't lay a finger on a woman like me," she then giggled.

"She's right! Let me be the one who fights her instead!" Shuhei protested.

"No I got this!" Tthomas stated when he squeezed the badge, "Besides, I'll need someone to watch my body." He slammed the badge against his chest. The "reaper Thomas" popped out as his body fell to the ground. "I was told I can be reckless when I fight!"

"Fine," Shuhei sighed annoyed.

"Oh just one boy fighting for me, this is no fun at all," Molly sighed.

"Don't worry I'll keep you entertained," Thomas had a dirty smirk on his face as he pulled out his sword. With a mighty swing, he threw his blade at the opposing woman.

"So straight forward," Molly denounced. Her hands started to glow. The sword got close and Molly started to clamp her hands, but moments before her hands connected the sword turned to sand.

"Erode! Bruno!" Thomas had commanded just moments before.

"What?" Molly gasped.

"Now Sand Tomb!" the teen ordered as he swished his hand. A giant whirl pool of sand engorged Molly from the wasted down.

"This is your big attack?" Molly questioned with disappointment.

"For now," the teen smirked.

"Well you'll have to do better than this!" Molly chuckled and mocked. She snapped her fingers and the whole amount of sand was crystallized.

"I wasn't aware you could crystallize moving things now," Thomas was thoroughly shocked.

"I'm stronger now (plus it's not water)!" Molly boasted.

"That explains why he is not here," the teen thought. "Hisagi! Be on the look out for an entei!"

"Entei?" Shuhei asked he thought about it long and hard. "About the request, the only entei I know is the mystical fire demon from the legends," he thought to himself.

"Oh well, just be on the look out for me buddy," Thomas sighed.

"Hahaha! What will you do now stupid boy?" Molly asked in a sense or arrogance. [This bitch needs to be slapped. Oh wait, I intentionally wrote her this way. Never mind.]

"Surprise you!" Thomas shouted as he moved his hands. The crystallize sand started to crack.

"Pressurize and Shatter! Adamant Bruno!" The crystal shards turned to diamond as the sand exploded in an eruption of diamond shards. "Any last words girly?"

"Not yet," Molly smirked and back flipped out of the area of assault.

"Sorry that won't work; besides, you're not a Power Ranger," Thomas said as he started to move his fingers. The shards all moved in response.

"What? You can control each one?" the woman asked.

"Sheesh you talk a lot. I guess we are both full of surprises," the teen answered.

"Yeah yeah, haven't I heard that one before?" she giggled.

"What do you mean?" Thomas questioned as he called back the shards to his side.

"It means all the other reapers I fight say that as well," she answered in a snobbish tone.

"So you've been cheating on me? Here I thought what we had was special."

"Sorry but you just can't satisfy me anymore."

"I can change, I swear."

"Sorry it's too late for that, but we can still be friends."

"Yeah, like that will happen!" the teen smiled wryly. "Scatter!" the shards scattered in the battle field.

"Hmmm, there's nothing I can do now," Molly thought to herself.

"Barrage!" the teen announced. The shards started to wiggle.

"What's going on?" Molly gasped. The shards soon started to shoot towards her. She tried to dodge but there where to many to do so. After a few minutes the onslaught dispersed. Molly was covered in cuts and soon fell to her knees.

"I think that's enough Thomas! There's no need to hurt her anymore!" Shuhei called out.

"I am aware. This isn't my first battle." Thomas responded as he sheathed his blade. "So Molly, can you answer a few questions for us?"

"Do I have a choice?" she wondered.

"Not if you want to live you don't," Thomas bluntly stated. It was hard to tell if he was serious or not.

"Tell us everything about your organization!" Shuhei jumped the gun.

"Hisagi, buddy, you have to build up to it first," Thomas sighed.

"Or break it into small question fragments. Are you new at this?" Molly added.

"Hey! I'm not the enemy here!" Shuhei blushed from his mistake.

"True. So Molly where are the headquarters located?" Thomas started off.

"Behind a house in the middle of an open field. Well it's more like under. It's a small house, kind of like the one on that show. You know the one with the little house that sits on a prairie. Although the name of the show escapes me," Molly answered.

"Where exactly is this house?" Shuhei asked.

"I'm not sure. Nobody is sure. We all just use a card that leads us to the location. It's mysterious that way," Molly explained.

"Oh. That will make it harder to track down then," Shuhei thought.

"May we bother you for the acquisition of your locator card?" Thomas innocently asked. Kind of how you asked an acquaintance for a favor you have no intention of repaying back. We all done this at least once so don't judge.

"I can't. If I do, then I can't go back," the girl started to tear up.

"If they found out you lost, you wouldn't be able to go back anyways," the reaper teen pointed out.

"Oh yeah. That is a good point." Molly realized.

"So anyways, moving on. Why did they capture our friend?" Shuhei inquired.

"The orange haired bimbo?" Molly wondered.

"Yeah that the one," Thomas responded, "Although I wouldn't say that around Ichigo."

"Well I'm not too sure. The master hasn't revealed any of the plan that involves her to us yet," Molly answered with a dumb look on her face.

"So you guys just mindlessly follow this guy?" Shuhei wondered.

"No, that would be stupid. We have faith in him. He has shown us what he can do, and all the plans we done for him has been worth it. He has gained our trust!" Molly defended.

"I take it that we won't get much more information out of you. It's disappointing really, I had more important questions to ask," Thomas sighed.

"I've already said too much, besides I'm giving you my card. That alone is a warrant for my death," Molly told them as she rose to her feet. "Hurry up and take this!" she handed an I.D. like card to Thomas.

"What? This is the locator card?" the teen wondered.

"It's my member card stupid boy! With this you will find out the location of our hideout and all that jazz that goes with it, like access into the house," she explained like she was talking down to them.

"Thank you Molly," Thomas was confused but he took the card.

ROAR!

"What was that noise?" Shuhei panicked.

"Oh boy," Molly laughed "now you're in trouble!"

"Son of a banshee! It's her entei!" Thomas warned.

To be continued

Chapter 19: Hot as Hell!  
Entei shows up to see a wounded Molly. Enraged he goes berserk and starts to attack the ones responsible. Meanwhile Orihime gets called in to see the mastermind behind the Crusaders.


	19. Hot as Hell!

**Chapter 19: Hot as Hell!**

_**ROAR**_

The two teens heard the mighty roar again, but this time it was closer than it was before.

"Damnit! Not him. I'll fight anyone but him," Thomas groaned, obliviously displeased and familiar with the roar.

"Do you know who it is that is making all that noise?" Shuhei inquired.

"Yes," Thomas sighed, "you better transform quick and put our bodies in a safe place before our friend arrives."

"But who exactly are we going to be up against?" the puzzled Shuhei wanted to know.

"Tsk, tsk. We don't start our sentences with 'but'; bad grammar," Thomas lectured.

"Now is not the time for that!" the other teen scolded.

"You boys are silly," Molly laughed. "Don't get after him for the proper grammar thing. He does it to everybody, even his enemies."

"We're going up against her guardian. He happens to be an Entei. Although I just don't know what form he is going to be in," Thomas glowered. Still upset about the remark made by Molly.

"Entei?" Shuhei asked, "you mean like the legendary fire demon that appears in old passed down legends?"

"Sure let's go with that," the teen said. Although I would have referenced the Pokemon or the fire horse from Inuyasha... Thomas thought to himself. He's a big otaku, but Shuhei has no reason to know that.

"Wait, why would she have..." Shuhei started to asked but was soon tackled to the ground by the other teen. A moment had passed before a stream of fire was launched in their direction.

"I told you to keep your guard up and transform!" Thomas scolded his friend.

"Well if you wanted to get on top of me all you had to do was ask," Shuhei chuckled, making a joke while taking advantage of the situation.

"This is no time for that!" Thomas quickly got off of him and got up, "the Entei will be here any minute!"

"So what? He's already attacking, meaning there is no hope for you guys left," Molly laughed and boasted.

"There's always hope," Shuhei proclaimed. Although it was a really cheesy thing to say, like *"the heart of the cards," and "friendship can over come anything."

"Just do what I told you Hisagi!" Thomas commanded.

"Oh right, I almost forgot," Shuhei panicked. He grabbed the vacant body and started to drag it behind a couple of trees. After all, nothing says safe from fire like trees made out of wood.

"Molly!" a loud voice boomed.

"Well this is just a craptasicular turn of events," Thomas thought as an enormous shadow appeared at the girl's side.

"Molly, who did this to you?" the shadowy figure asked, but it was still loud and demanding. The way he spoke made it seem that there was an echo at the end of every sentence.

"Oh Entei it was horrible! That mean boy beat me up," she sobbed while pointing at Thomas, "and then he tried to take advantage of me when I couldn't fight back."

"What do you have to say for yourself?" the owner of the booming voice asked.

"It's a long story," Thomas nervously chuckled, "but I didn't physically touch her so if you'll excuse me I'll be on my way."

"No you don't!" the voice boomed.

The shadow took a deep breath and launched a giant fire ball at the teen. The flame was a dark red, almost violet color.

"I guess I can't leave, bummer," Thomas sighed after barely dodging the attack. Shuhei emerged from behind the trees after transforming and moving the bodies. Probably not in that order.

"So that's the guardian Entei," he gulped. Shuhei saw that the guardian towered over everyone, even someone as tall as Thomas. The strange man was wearing a dark red suit which was also had a nice sheen (like a lustrous coat on a dog) to it, and for some reason there was black collar-like cuffs around his wrist and ankles. His hair was short and spiky almost the color of a fire engine, then upon his face he donned a metal mask that surrounded his eyes. The bottom of the mask stretch down to his chin, while his mouth was uncovered. Shuhei also took notice of his bright piercing red eyes that just radiated out of the mask.

"Wow you really take red to a whole new level," Thomas commented.

"Shut up you stupid boy!" Molly shouted, "Attack!"

"If that is what you wish," the Entei bowed and leaped toward the teen.

"Back you vile fiend!" Thomas shouted in a panicky voice. Only saying this sentences because it usually never comes up in a normal conversation.

"Take this!" the guardian took a deep breath. "Hell Flamethrower!" a powerful row of flames shout out of the mouth and moved towards the teen at a high speed.

"Egad!"Thomas dove out of the way, while using another word that normally doesn't come up at all during a conversation (His beta begs to differ).

"Holy crap! That is a powerful attack!" Shuhai gulped as he hid safely behind the trees. (The magic fire proof trees mind you.) "If I get involved I will only get in the way," he cursed his own weakness then his attention turned to Molly. "I've got a very naughty idea," he chuckled.

"Sand Stream!" Thomas commanded as he was surrounded by a veil of sand.

"That won't protect you. Hell Tower!" a stack of flames shot out from the ground below the defending teen.

"Sandstorm!" a huge typhoon of sand shot from the teen's feet as he jumped to avoid the attack. "I can't believe I had to de-evolutionize Bruno just to deal with these flames." The two opposing forces canceled each other out. "If only his flames didn't affect the shape of my diamonds."

"Don't let your guard down!" the Entei shouted in a mockery tone of voice.

"Dammit! Why is the recovery time between his attacks so short?" the teen wondered.

"Hell Burst!" a giant fire ball shot out of the enemy.

"Sand Sables!" Flying blades of sands emerged from the teen and hit the fireball. Once again the attacks canceled each other out.

"Not bad for a little brat. Barrage!" fireballs shot out each one right after another, with barely a second between them.

"See previous thought," the teen thought to himself as he dropped his guard and took each of the fireballs head on.

"You had nothing up your sleeve? I am disappointed in you. Last time you put up a better fight. Why are you giving up so easily?" the guardian asked as he saw a burnt and beaten up teen barely able to stand right in from of him.

"On the contrary my friend," the teen laughed as a blade appeared in front of the guardian's neck, "my sleeves are made of tricks." (Don't ask. It sounded a whole lot better in my head.)

"That makes no sense," the Entei sighed (and agreed with most of my readers). "Wait a minute, if you're here," then his attention turned away from the teen that was behind him to the one that was supposed to be in front of him. In a blink of an eye the teen that was supposed to be burnt to a crisp, started to crumble and soon dissolved into a pile of sand. "When did you make the switch?"

"When you complemented me by telling me I wasn't bad," Thomas smirked.

"Well I know when I'm licked."

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

"You know what they say about the sun don't you?"

"The sun? What are you talking about?"

"Well I guess if you don't get the hint, I am the victorious one of our little bout."

"I don't understand," the teen confesses.

"Prepare for my special attack, St. Elmo's fi..." The Entei was about to unleash his attack before being cut off by the screams of a young woman.

"Stop Entei! No more!" Molly cried out in distress, "this has gone on long enough!"

"If that is what you wish." He along with Thomas turned their attention towards Molly. There standing behind her was Shuhei with his blade in its released form and holding it against the young lady's neck. In a way, Molly was being threatened with a very sharp pinwheel.

"Hisagi!"Thomas smiled, "great going!" Hearing this made the other teen smile.

"Now why don't you explain everything to him," Shuhei suggested in a dark tone of voice while moving the blade closer to her neck.

"Let her go!" the guardian demanded.

"Neither of y'all are in a position to be making demands," Thomas told them while he pressed his blade against the Entei's neck.

"I have something to tell you," Molly sighed.

Preview:

Chapter 20: Resolve  
Orihime gets summoned to meet the leader of the crusaders and in an attempt to save everyone the trouble of rescuing her yet again she resolves to be the one who will put an end to this once and for all.

*If you can tell me who said each of the quotes you will win a prize. Since I am all out of chocobos, you will just have to deal with a special mention in the next exciting chapter. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, then I'll create an OC for you to be used in the final chapter (if you want to). Just leave who you think it is in the nice review box. Happy reading!


	20. Resolve!

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates everyone one. It's just that college preparations have been taking up the majority of my time. I hardly have any free time to do what I need to since they keep giving me the run around. Oh well, I got the majority of it done for now. All that is left to do is pack before I head off to the dorms. So enjoy this chapter, and don't forget to review after you read. Although I will understand if you don't want to read this, after all it focuses on the useless Orihime. (Also there a bit more to this story, but I fel t bad for having Orihime being beaten to a pulp, so I cut out parts. Sorry!)

**Chapter 20: Resolve!**

"You little bitch!" an angry male voice screamed at the tattered teenage girl in front of him. The orange hair maiden was suspended in the air by two grass vines, with one wrapped around each arm. Her clothes were a bit tarter with cuts along in assorted places.

"I just wanted to be useful for once," Orihime whispered to herself as a tear streamed down her eye. With a flick of a wrist form the mysterious man, the girl was flung across the room, and slammed into a nearby wall. She let out a groan of pain as she struggled to pick herself up off the ground.

"Did you really think that you would be able to actually take me on?" the condescending man laughed. The girl rose to her knees, slightly panting from being low on energy. The unknown gentleman threw something at the fallen girl.

"I reject!" Orihime screamed as an orange triangular shield formed in front of her. An object was stuck in the shield. "A rose?" the young lady questioned.

"Oh dear me, whatever shall I do?" the man mocked. He snapped his fingers and the rose started to shake a little. One of the petals plucked itself and the rest followed suit. The trail of petal moved behind the shield and positioned themselves next to Orihime. "This is your only chance to surrender," the man announced.

"No!" Orihime shouted, "I'll never give up!"

"Suit yourself," the unknown fiend sighed, "Rose Cutlass!" The train of petals shot at the girl, striking her across the chest and causing her shield to disappear. The man laughed as she slowly fell to the ground.

"I reject!" she said mustering all of her strength. A two pronged shield formed around the wound. As if someone hit the rewind button, the battle damage started to go away.

"What witchery is this?" the mysterious stranger panicked. He was sure he hit a vital spot, but yet she healing it as if it was nothing.

"Why did it come to this?" Orihime thought, "I just didn't want to be a burden."

_"The master room is just beyond these double doors," Angelica, the gothic Lolita bowed as she pointed to the doors._

_"Thank you," Orihime responded, "but why does he want to see me?"_

_"All of our guests may meet with our master during their stay," the upbeat gothic chick answered like it was both obvious and second nature, "besides he has a proposition for you."_

_"I see," the orange- haired girl stated but she didn't see. In fact she had no idea what was going on._

_"Please," the Lolita begged, "please hear him out and if you get a chance, join us."_

_"I don't understand," she confessed._

_"Please join us. I, no, we all really like you and don't want to see you get destroyed, so please..." Angelica started to tear up._

_"Don't cry," Orihime tried to cheer her up. She put on a serious face and entered through the doors. The room was vastly empty and not very well lit. There were black stone roman columns that lined both sides of the walls. There were tiles on the floor with an indescribable pattern on them. A velvet red carpet lined the middle of the room and stretched back to the far side of the room. The only furnishing of the room was one throne chair made of dark maple wood and a crimson red padding. In that chair is where he sat._

_"Welcome my dear Orihime," the master extended his welcome, "I've been expecting you."_

_"Nice room you got here," was all she could say. Talking took great courage, courage she didn't have. Her eyes finally adjusted to the lighting of the room, and now she had a clear view if what the leader looked like._

_"Thank you, but to be honest this is just the room I use to meet people, my actual room is way better than this," the mysterious leader was making small talk._

_"If I may ask," the girl tried to muster strength, "why was I brought here?"_

_"Ah my dear lady," it was hard to tell if she was being mocked or not, "you possess an interesting gift." the man leaned forward. This master of the crusaders had deep crimson red eyes, long flowing silver hair, but his ears went to a point. They were normal human ears but he kind of looked like an elf or a demon. He was wearing a pure white suit with the only color being the black long sleeve shirt that was under the jacket. _

_"What do you mean?" she asked for a further explanation._

_"Well you have the ability to cut that which can't be cut," he started to ramble, "an ability that would be useful for me."_

_"What are you planning to do?" she wondered. There was a negative feeling hanging in the air and it scared her. The only way she knew how to keep it off is by keeping the conversation going._

_"That I can't tell you," he answered with an evil smirk._

_"I see," she pouted. _

_"I will say this; there is always something you'll ask from your friends. When you join me and settle down I'll tell you everything," he chuckled._

_"Friends," Orihime muttered before going into a semi-deep thought. "That's right, Ichigo and the others are probably worried about me. That means they must be doing everything they can to come and rescue me. No! This means there will be more pointless fighting and Ichigo is going to end up getting hurt again. I am so tired of being useless and not being able to help him at all. I know, if I can take this guy out and make a break for it then.."_

_"What are you thinking about my dear," the stranger asked looking at a constipated face of the lady in front of him._

_"Your name," she panicked, "I don't even know your name yet. How can I join you if I don't even know that?"_

_"You make a good point my dear," the leader smiled sensing some trust, "my name is Youko."_

_"In order to save everyone the pain and suffering of coming to get me, I must take out their leader!" she thought to herself. She pulled out the broach from her pocket but realized that she didn't know how it would exactly work._

_"What's going on?" Youko thought as he warned her._

_"My friends will risk their lives to come get me!" she started to monologue, " I don't want to put them through that kind of pain. I am tired of being a burden to them! So I...I will defeat you here and now to prove that I'm a fighter to and not some girl that needs to be rescued all the time!" Orihime touched one of her flower hair clips._

_"Calm down, and think about what you're going to do," Youko tried to warn her._

_"I REJECT!" she screamed as a golden arrow like beam shot out from her head. Youko got up from his chair but was still struck by the attack._

_"'My arm!" he screamed, "You chopped off my arm! You're going to pay for that you little home wrecker!" the leader warned._

"What was I thinking? I knew I couldn't take him on yet I did it anyways. I should have kept quiet and agreed to go along with him and waited to be saved like usual," Orihime thought to herself.

"This is my final offer!" Youko shouted, "Use your weird healing ability to fix my arm and I'll spare your life!"

"No!" she protested. She didn't even know where this courage was coming from. "You can't kill me; you need me for your plan!"

"No I don't. If I kill you I'll just use my special power to use your firm reaper ability," he laughed.

"I hate to correct you, but I'm only human with spiritual powers," she told him. Orihime didn't know whether or not she should have told him that or not.

"I see; you are a very interesting girl indeed."

Preview for chapter 21: Thinking Ahead!

Thomas calls for a meeting with everyone to explain what he has learned from the now on the run Molly. With this key piece of information, they plan their course of action to tackle all problems head on.


	21. Thinking Ahead!

**A/N:** I am going to try to squeeze in one more chapter before the 20th. Mainly it is move in day and I officially leave for college. You probably don't care but I felt like you guys should be informed anyways. After that it'll take a while to adjust, and when I do I'll start writing and updating again. I'm sorry because I meant to have this finished before the summer was over. A lot of good that did me. Well enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review after you read.

**Chapter 21: Thinking Ahead!**

_A few minutes had passed since Thomas and Shuhei defeated Molly and her guardian Entei. She patiently waited there for them to get back into their bodies instead of using the brief period of time to flee and escape. Something anyone else would have done._

_"There is something about the Member's Card you really need to know," she kindly informed them. There was a hint of mockery in her tone of voice._

_"There's always a catch," Thomas let out a frustrated sigh. Dealing with these Crusaders have been a real pain in the ass._

_"What exactly do we need to know?" Shuhei inquired._

_"The card will only allow one person to enter," Molly let out a hateful laugh._

_"How do you plan to rectify that," an annoyed shaggy hair teen wondered._

_"Oh! Well what you can do is have one person enter the secret base and completely close the door. Wait for the light on the handle on the inside to turn green and then open it allowing all your friends enter," she quickly explained as she was receiving death glares from both teen boys. _

"_Oh! That sounds simple enough," Shuhei responded. He must have been expecting some long complicated process or something._

"_Almost too simple," Thomas thought, "is there anything else we need to know while your generously handing out information? You know, like traps, ambushes, random battles, and the like?"_

"_Just be prepared and expected the unexpected," she giggle, confusing the boys a little."Also expect the expected." The teens let out a frustrated sigh. "Entei, my Pegasus please!"_

"_If that is what you wish," her guardian let out a disappointed sigh. In an instant the towering male was engulfed in flames and swallowed by a crystal cocoon. When he broke free, he had taken on a completely different form. _(I would hope so, otherwise those special effects were for nothing.) _Sure, in theory he looked like any other winged horse, but what made his stand out was his color. The guardian Entei was a deep, almost black, crimson color, with fire spouting from his hooves, the edges of his wings, and even his mane was made of fire. Molly giggled as she excitedly hoped on his back. The two of them flew off into the distance to never be seen again. _

"_That's one bitchin' bird," the spiky hair teen complimented._

"_Horse," the shaggy hair teen corrected._

"_I'm pretty sure its more bird than horse," Shuhei argued. _

"_I'm pretty sure its the other way around," Thomas defended. Shuhei shrugged. He didn't want to get into an argument, especially one on a topic such as this, so he picked up the red rubber ball of death and pegged Thomas as hard as he could in his chest. "I think you cracked a..." Thomas started to complain before he face palmed himself, "school is still going on!" Shuhei gasped and the two teens made a mad dash towards the school. _

_ It took the teens a few minutes to escape the forest and head back towards the field. However, when they arrived, the class was already heading back into the building, signaling that it is almost the end of the day. _

"_Ronnie!" Thomas called out to a girl wearing a green hoodie, "where are Red and Orange?"_

"_Oh! The new kids," it took her a moment to recall, "they got sent to the office not too long ago."_

"_Fighting," Thomas and Shuhei both sighed._

"I can't believe you two got sent to the office for fighting!" Thomas scolded the two hot headed teens as they walked home from school. "Actually I can believe it, I was just hoping you guys would have more respect for me and actually..." He stopped mid sentence not knowing exactly what he hoped to accomplish.

"Sorry," the two trouble makers said without any remorse what so ever, "but he started it!" The two of them were pointing to each other.

"I don't care!" Thomas told them, "I'm ending it!" The two of them were going to protest, but the death glare they had gotten from their host told them otherwise.

"Hey guys!" a familiar female voice called out to them. Everyone turned to look and saw that a girl was waving and running up to the group. Her long blue black hair flowed behind her as she ran. There was a braided pony tail in the back but it look like it didn't affect the hair style what so ever. Her black slack-like pants, danced as she moved, just like her black arm warmers that began just below the shoulder and ended at the wrist. She also had a tube top like shirt with a red plaid-like pattern, but it was just a variation of small red stripes going in different directions, that was only being held up by her average size breast.

"Whoa," Ichigo muttered, "who is that?" The girl mus have been running up to him in slow motion. You know, like that cheesy effect used in...like in Baywatch. (Easiest one to reference.)

"That's Courtney, remember Ichi? We were with her just yesterday," Thomas told him.

"It's no use, he's long gone," Renji commented on Ichigo's status. She caught up to them with in a few seconds, but when she did, she had to catch her breath.

"Hey, what's up?" Thomas greeted.

"Word on the street is you guys have obtained valuable information about the Crusaders," she responded. Normally when some one asks her 'what's up?' she replies with 'nothing much, you?'.

"That just happened," the shaggy hair teen stated in a surprised manner.

"Exactly what street do you live on?" Shuhei questioned, wondering where she had heard this from.

"Yes, we did obtain info," the orange hair teen told her, pushing both raven-haired boys out of the way. "Actually it was me who got it."

"Really," Courtney gasped, "that makes you my hero." Thomas smirked, her knew her sarcasm when he heard it. Renji and Shuhei, on the other hand, looked confused.

"Well we did agree to help you," he stammered, not knowing exactly what he was staying at this point.

"So, what did you find?" she wondered.

"Well," he stuttered, "I got nothing."

"So you're a phony?"

"What? No! We did get information, but it just wasn't me who got it."

"So, you're a liar?"

"No, I was just..." Ichigo turned a bright red.

"Relax kid, I'm just messing with you," she smiled and Ichigo turned a bright red and turned away.

"Hey, text everyone and tell them we have a meeting tonight at my house," Thomas requested of his friend, "and make sure to tell them, those who don't show up can't kick any Crusader ass."

"Why can't you do it yourself?" Courtney wondered as she pulled out her phone and started to text her teammates. They continued to walk towards the group leader's house.

It took a while for everyone to convene at Thomas' house. While they were waiting for the remaining teammates, Rachel, Manikha, Rukia, and Corey, the teens just lounged around listening to music and playing video games. Courtney was kicking ass at Brawl, mainly because Shuhei was onlying defending while he learned how to use the controls, while Ichigo and Renji just kept attacking each other, in the game and out. [A/N: While everyone is at their meeting, I am just going to use people's names instead of descriptive of them since there are a lot of people and it'll be easier to keep track of.] Soon everyone arrived and moved into the dining room where the big table was, since it'll be easier for all of them to sit comfortably.

"WHAT?" everyone minus Thomas and Shuhei gasped. They were surprised by what Thomas told them. It was the first time any of them encountered a Crusader at school. What sent them over the top though was the member card. Thomas tossed it on the table and they all started in disbelief. A Key Item such as that was the miracle they were hoping for.

"This can't be real," Corey stated acting like a jerk. Why was he even on the team to begin with? _(B/N: Good question. Look into it.)_

"Oh trust me, it is real," Thomas told him.

"I hate to do this," Rachel sighed, "but I agree with Corey. No way would they just hand over something as important as this."

"Objection!" Manikha shouted pointing at Rachel, "From their story, they won it fair and square."

"There has to be some way we can test this," Renji thought, "did that woman tell you how to activate it?"

"Yes," Shuhei recalled as he grabbed the card, "you just charge it up with spirit energy." He created a sphere of energy around his hand where the card was being held. He then placed the card on the table and it emitted a holographic map.

"We are here," Thomas pointed, "even though it would help if we had an arrow pointing to it."

"Like they have on the maps at the malls?" Ichigo asked.

"Exactly!" Thomas traced his finger to a star that was next to a river and out in an open field. "We want to go here. Judging by the map, it doesn't seem like that great of a distance. It is even far away from the city so we can fight as wildly as we want and not destroy the city."

"I swear, you blow up half the town once, and on accident, and you never live it down," Courtney sighed.

"Actually I think he was referring to those two," Rukia mentioned while pointed out Renji and Ichigo, "I told him that they are pretty wild when they fight."

"Anyways," Ichigo said, trying to ignore the direct attack, "what exactly do you have planned to deal with those punks?"

"To put it simply, we're going to raid that house," Thomas answered with a smirk.

"What? Do you expect us to just knock on the door and ambush them when someone opens it?" Corey questioned.

"No, this is a raid. We just break in, kind of like how the S.W.A.T. Team does it," Thomas tried to explain.

"Wow that would be pretty sweet," Renji, Ichigo, Courtney, and Manikha all fantasized.

"I'm pretty sure we are not going to do that though," Shuhei chimed in.

"Shh," Thomas told him, "let them dream."

"So, exactly what time is all of this going down?" Rachel wondered.

"Well it'll be stupid to do it in broad daylight," Thomas mumbled, "We going to do it at night." Everyone looked at him. "I recommend taking a nap now because we're going to leave as soon as the moon is high in the sky."

Preview for chapter 22: Member's Only!

The gang leaves for the midnight raid only to meet a sort of unexpected obstacle. Will they be able to over come it?


	22. Members Only!

Author's note: Wow, it has been a really long time since I had any free time to myself to do any writing. For all of you who have been wondering, I am in college now and have sort of made an adjustment to college life. High school does not prepare you for this, at all. There is a lot of work to be done, and you hardly ever have free time. When you do, you will start to panic and worry that something is wrong or you forgot to do something, but c'est la vie. I don't have much free time, but when I do, I try to write as much as I can. So, please enjoy this new (and short) chapter and don't forget to review after you read.

**Chapter 22: Members Only!**

"Do you remember the plan everyone?" Thomas asked his fellow reapers as they stood outside the hideout of the Crusaders. For some unknown reason, this question seemed to be directed at Ichigo.

"More or less," Ichigo mumbled as he scratched the back of his head. The plan sounded easy enough to follow, almost too easy. All he had to do was swipe the card on the door handle. It will open and automatically close. When it does that, just open the door to let everyone in. It wasn't that hard to do. The only thing he didn't know was why they decided to strike at midnight. Sure Thomas claimed it was for the element of surprise, but it didn't make much sense. To top it all off, they had left their bodies defenseless at his house while they were all fighting here. Sure he promised they would be safe, but something still nagged at him.

"Don't worry Ichigo, nothing will happen to our bodies," everyone told the orange-haired teen who had just spaced out.

"Does this happen often?" one of the Americans questioned. All the _Soul Reapers_ nodded. Apparently Ichigo was always in deep thought.

"It's not that," he protested, "I was just wondering why I have to be the one who opens the door."

"It's simple Ichigo," Renji smirked, "you drew the shortest straw."

"You lost at Rock Paper Scissors," Rukia added.

"You rolled the lowest number," Shuhei commented.

"You went with odds*," Thomas chimed in.

"The nose goes," Courtney smiled.

"Stop, enough already, I get it!" Ichigo complained. Clearly he was really bad at games of chance. He let out a sigh and swiped the card through the little slot on the handle. A red light flashed a couple of times then turned green. A sound of unlocking could be heard from the door. With the turn of the know, Ichigo pushed open the door to enter the secret base.

"What the...?" the orange-haired teen gasped as he was shocked by what he saw, "what is this place exactly?" He recalled walking into a house. That's right, a house. This is not what you find in most homes. For a reason unbeknownst to him, he appeared in a forest. The forest was pitch black. The towering trees and clear dark sky didn't help much either. The only source of light was being emitted from the full moon in the sky.

"You seem lost little boy," the chuckle of a young adult male could be heard. The voice echoed even though the trees should silence that. Ichigo couldn't pinpoint the location it was coming from.

"Yes I am a little lost," the teen admitted. "You see what had happen was: I just walked into this house and I appeared in this forest."

"I see, that is quite a predicament you find yourself in," the mysterious voice agreed. A silhouette passed by Ichigo, but not slow enough for him to follow. "Although I don't recall seeing your face around here before."

"Oh about that," Ichigo chuckled, "I am a new recruit and I've, uh, been out in the field a lot."

"I see, the master has you doing missions," the stranger seemed to believe.

"Yes, that." Ichigo felt fear inside of him, but he didn't know where it was coming from. After all, he faced countless enemies far stronger than him.

"What kind of missions were you sent on exactly," the voice questioned.

"Recon," the orange-haired teen responded as something passed him. He managed to trace it this time, despite the fact it was too dark to really make out anything. The only thing he was certain of was that something big and dark passed by him and landed on a nearby rock.

"Well young man you are a liar!" the shadowy figure scolded as Ichigo gulped, "I know for a fact that you are not a part of our group!"

"Oh is that right?" Ichigo questioned. "How did you figure that out?"

"You are a grim reaper, a taker of life. There is no way one of your kind would be among our ranks!" The figure explained. Ichigo took a deep gulp. A beam of light shot out from the moon and hit the boulder where the mysterious stranger stood. Kind of like the special beam of light that plays with an angelic choir. There in the glory of the moonlight, Ichigo saw his enemy. A young man, a little older than Ichigo stood on the rock. He had a black trench coat and pants that made it easier for him to blend in the darkness. Around his neck was a crimson scarf that flowed in the wind (even though there was no breeze). Long white hair also flowed in the dramatic and symbolic wind. The hair covered half his face and revealed a deep and bright green eye. The moon vanished causing all light to vanish, but as luck would have it, the mysterious stranger let off a faint glow.

"Who, are you?" the reaper wondered.

"You break into my house then you ask me who I am? There is something seriously wrong with you." He jumped off the rock. "I will tell you though since it's proper to know the name of the enemy who kills you."

"Don't be too sure about that. I faced countless people who tried to kill me, and look, none have been successful so far," Ichigo boasted. He felt a little courage but it was being drowned out by fear.

"My name is Raimundo. Call me Rai for short. You're here on Newmoon Island, my home," Rai started to explain. "I am going to tell you my special ability, well one of them anyways. I can manipulate fear."

"Wait," Ichigo gasped as he started to think. _If he can manipulate fear, then that means..._

"What you're thinking is right," the stranger chuckled, "even if there is a little bit of fear in a person, I can intensify and make it grow, and right now, you're emitting an endless stream of fear." Rai was a few feet away from Ichigo. The teen slowly reached for the hilt of his blade, but a narrow green eye was watching his every move.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Rai warned the orange-haired teen who was reaching for his weapon.

"I need to take him out in one move," Ichigo kept repeating in his head. His hand gripped the hilt.

"Nightmare!" Rai shouted. Ichigo didn't see anything, and for a few moments nothing happened, then out of the blue (well black since it is night time) he let out a scream of anguish and pain. His whole body felt like it was on fire as he witnessed the most horrible thing he could ever imagine crystal clear in his head.

"What happened?" Ichigo wondered as the pain subsided. He soon fell on his hands and knees and started panting.

"That was delicious, must have been a really painful experience for it to turn out this good," Rai mocked as his body glow grew stronger.

"Tell me what happened!" Ichigo demanded as he staggered to get back up.

"Why should I? We are opponents in the mist of battle, I owe you no explanation of anything," the glowing man stated. "Have you been so spoiled in your one on one battles where your opponent took the time to explain everything to you?" Ichigo was shocked by what he heard. It's true, no matter who he fought, they always explained everything to him while fighting. He recalled Byakuya's battle with him instantly where he practically broke down the mechanics of his bankai.

"I guess I have," Ichigo sighed. He knew he was going to have to use his head in battle this time, which was one of the things he hated doing the most.

"Besides, it shouldn't be to hard to figure out," Rai told him. "I'll help you out again."

"I don't think so!" Ichigo shouted. He flashed stepped around his opponent trying to disorient him. With a swing of his right arm, Ichigo slashed. Rai managed to dodge most of the attack, but the blade hit his arm, tearing off the sleeve of the trench coat, and slightly cutting his arm.

"Interesting," Rai took mention, "you can muster up courage to overpower your fear in dire situations. Don't get too happy about that though, all it means I need to step up my game a little."

"Damnit!" Ichigo cursed under his breath. He hoped to do some serious damage, but Rai was too fast. Then again, he was fighting in his enemy's territory.

"Nightmare!" the silver-haired fiend whispered as Ichigo screamed out in pain again. This time was different however, Ichigo managed to keep his eyes open, and keep them peeled on Rai. He saw something shocking but collapsed as soon as the pain subsided.

"How is that possible?" Ichigo wondered.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Rai inquired in a mocking tone.

"How the hell did you heal your self?" Ichigo demanded to know. "As I was suffering I saw the cut on your arm heal up, and the sleeve to your jacket reattach itself."

"Well in battle, clothes are just an extension of your body," Rai said.

"That's not what I wanted to know," Ichigo told him.

"Am I suppose tell you what exactly happened?" he asked.

"No I guess not," the teen sighed then he got an idea. "Correct me if I am wrong, but when you use your nightmare ability it steals my life force and adds it to yours."

"Close but no cigar," the glowing man told him. "When I use my nightmare attacks, it uses the severity of your bad dreams to give me power and heal any battle damage I receive. That's why I use my fear manipulation ability to increases the magnitude of your fear which has a direct correlation..." Rai covered his mouth. He leaked out too much information. How did this brat manage to get him to talk?

"Nightmare," Ichigo thought. "Wait that means I'm dreaming. The moment I entered the house, he must have used some sort of hypnosis or something to knock me out."

"That look on your face," Rai took notice, "you must have realized something but it's too late."

"It's never too late for anything," Ichigo told him. He leveled his blade and placed his palm on the hilt.

"That's not going to work here," the man warned the teen.

"Like hell I'll believe you!" Ichigo shouted. "Bankai!" Nothing happened though.

"I tried to tell you," Rai sighed. "This fight is pretty come as you are."

"Well that sure was embarrassing," the orange-haired teen chuckled nervously.

"Dark," the shadowy figure placed his two palms together as a ball of dark energy started to form. It grew in size rapidly. "Pulse!" He launched the giant ball of energy at the teen. Ichigo used his sword to dispatch the straight forward attack.

"Is that it?" Ichigo asked Rai.

"Do you think I'll launch an attack that can be easily stopped?" Rai questioned Ichigo. The teen quickly turned around. He saw the same ball of energy that he split in half coming back to him as two attacks.

"No! Wait! Stop!" the teen cried out and the balls got closer. "Pause, wait," he continued to say as he started to run away from them.

"Oh that looks like fun," Rai chuckled, "let's make it better. Splitter!" The two energy balls split up and branched off into more. Sure they got smaller, but there was a countless amount of them. Ichigo stopped, there was no way he could out run this many. He was soon surrounded by them as they hung motionlessly in the air. One by one they started to suicide bomb the teen, but the kid managed to dodge them, even if it was by a few seconds. A few moments had passed before Ichigo was hit by one.

"Wait a minute, individually they are weak," the teen took notice. Rai seemed to figured out that the teen must have realized what had happened, as he sent all the balls to attack at one. They all exploded upon impact and Ichigo was enveloped in a cloud of smoke.

"This fight has taken a turn I wasn't expecting," Rai smirked.

"You're not the only who can say that," Ichigo smirked as well as he emerged from the smoke unharmed.

"Where did this sudden burst of confidence come from?" Rai demanded to know. The orange-haired teen was staggering towards him with a wicked smile on his face. Ichigo stopped walking when he got a few feet away from his enemy.

"I won this battle already," Ichigo boasted, "that's where it comes from!"

"There's no way you won; this battle has just begun," Rai was taken back.

"No I won," Ichigo stated again, "right now it's a battle of endurance. Who can outlast who."

"You arrogant little," Rai mumbled, "Nightmare!" Ichigo scream out in pain again, or so it seemed until he started to laugh.

"I told you, I won. I already figured out everything out; there's no way for you to win," the teen told him.

"How?" the silver hair man started to wonder as he felt his power slip away.

"Oh, now you want to talk," the orange-haired teen started to mock.

"Yes, now. If you won as you claimed, you owe me that much," Rai demanded.

"I don't owe you shit!" Ichigo scolded. "Although I will tell you, since I need your power to escape this dream world. After all, I am not sure if I kill you I can escape or if I'll be trapped here."

"You know more than you're letting on," Rai gasped, "please explain everything."

"Well I don't want to be too talkative, but hell, I'll give it a shot," the teen sighed.

_ICHIGO!_

"Did you hear that?" Ichigo wondered.

"No," Rai answered. "I didn't hear anything."

"Strange," the teen muttered. "Well when you used your Nightmare attack on me the second time I noticed that you were being healed by my pain. While under the influence of that attack, I saw horrible images I never wanted to see. I realized that I saw my worse nightmares in high definition. When you let some information slip I realized that you can controls dreams and you are powered by nightmares."

"You're not making much sense kid," Rai confess," but I get what you're saying, do continue."

"As I was saying, when I realized that this was a dream, I decided to take control. I know this wasn't my dream but it was a long shot. I made my self invincible, and here we are," the teen explained.

"I see. I must amend you, you're the first opponent to ever realize that fact and turn it into a weapon," Rai chuckled. "Well I am beat. There's no way I can win now. The only thing you can do now is pierce me through with your sword so you can leave here."

"Alright," Ichigo stated and he grabbed his sword and positioned himself for the attack, "thanks for the battle." With a mighty thrust, Ichigo pierced through Rai's body as it started to glow. With a flash of light everything was gone.

"Ichigo wake up buddy," Ichigo heard Renji rough voice trying to be gentle.

"Please wake up Ichigo," Rukia was close to tears. Ichigo opened his eyes and was surprised yet again by what he saw. He was in a small room laying on a bed surrounded by all the other reapers. There wasn't much in the room, other than the bed, a table, and a small television and kitchen area.

"How did all of you guys get in here," Ichigo asked his friends as he looked around the room.

"Well," they all muttered and looked away.

"Why is there a hole in the wall?" Ichigo questioned with a scowl on his face. As he asked his question, he pointed to a big gaping hole right next to the door.

"Kool-Aid Man incident," Thomas told him with a 'don't ask' smile.

"I see," he nervously chuckled. His sat up in the bed and felt his hand brush up against a sword. It wasn't his, seeing as it was small and in its sheath. The sword was pure black, but had red wrapping on the hilt and white at the very end of the hilt. On the sheath however, it had the phases of the moon in a familiar green color.

"Ichigo what happened?" Shuhei inquired. "We heard screaming, and when we got in, you were sleeping on this bed."

"Well," Ichigo sighed, "it's a long story."

* * *

Preview for chapter 23: Raid!  
Now since the team is in the house it's time to raid. Once past the secret entrance they encounter a split pathway. Now they must divide and conquer the house, not knowing what is in store for them.

A/N: I am sorry for the battle. It could have gone better, but after writing it about five times and not having it turn out the way I wanted, I ended up with this mess. I know it didn't make much sense and was very anti-climatic, but it as the only thing that actually came out right. Please forgive me.


	23. SPECIAL: MOD

_(A/N) Since I have been really busy with work and college, my good friend and beta Viggorrah wrote this little filler chapter since for me. After all, I haven't had much time to write let alone update. Make sure you stop by her page to thank her, or just to let her know how awesome she is. _

**A Special Chapter Related to the Story:  
M.O.D.**

_Meanwhile, the groups' MOD souls were having adventures of their own…_

It was a normal day. The MOD souls were all hanging out inside Thomas' mansion in a neat circle, loyally keeping the owners' bodies safe.

Oh, who are we kidding? They're doing anything but.

"So they left their bodies here defenseless while they're off fighting, huh? That screams safe." Trace muttered sarcastically, standing next to the others outside in the front yard. "Then again, this does too."

"Was letting him do this a good idea?" Shuhei's MOD soul, Sean, questioned.

"Where the hell'd he get all of it from?" Daniel, in Ichigo's body, asked.

"Is this legal?" Roxas wondered.

"Um, Razeo..?" Trace rubbed the back of his head. "Is all this…necessary?"

"Yes!" He shouted, turning back to look at the rest of the group with a huge grin. The random construction hat was lopsided on his head, and he saluted them with peace sign. "Totally necessary!"

Behind him stood Trace's mansion, covered from foundation to roof in a custom and painfully obvious defense system.

"You'd think the military would notice something like this..." Amy, Rachel's doppelganger, stated.

"Of course not. The military is my supplier!" Razeo told him proudly (yes. Amy is a guy too), seeing the rest of the group stare silently. "Hey, what's with the blank faces?"

"There are…no words to describe…" Sean said, his eye twitching.

"Allow me to explain!" He said, holding up his fingers as he listed: "Rigged the front door with explosives, barred the windows, installed barbed wire on the fence, land mines in the back yard–"

_**BOOM!**_

Everyone leaned away from the force of the blast, and Renji's doppelganger flew out of the back yard and crashed straight into Ichigo.

"Dammit Trent! It took me forever to install those mines!" Razeo scolded.

"When'd he have the time..?" Sean wondered.

"I'd rather not watch them yell at each other. I'll be inside if you need me." Roxas told them in a bored tone.

"Mines? What in the hell is wrong with you, you crazy bitch!" he shouted, waving his arms wildly. Razeo kicked him in the face, shaking a fist at him.

"I'm a guy you jackass!"

"You're a damn transvestite!" he roared, his nose squirting out blood with considerable force.

"I'm not a transvestite you dumbass! I don't cross-dress!"

"That's right, you cross-gender!" Trent shouted.

"Shut up before I make you a no-gender!" Razeo threatened, kicking him again.

"What, no-gender? Transvestite? Am I a girl or boy…?" Amy mumbled to himself, confusedly squeezing one of Rachel's breasts. Trace and Sean gave him a horrified look.

"Get your fat ass off of me!" Daniel yelled.

"Shut up carrothead!" Daniel threw Trent off of him and stood, ready to strangle both of them.

_**BOOM!**_

Everyone leaned away again, the front door being blasted to smithereens.

"OH MY GOD MY LEG!"

"Goddammit, stop ruining my defense system!" Razeo screamed.

"YOU'RE A FREAKIN' PSYCHOPATH!" Roxas screamed from inside the house.

"Bite me, you figment of–ow!" Razeo looked down to find Amy gnawing on Courtney's ass. Everyone stared in an awkward silence, wondering exactly what was going to happen next.

"Wow, Courtney's gonna wonder about those teeth marks.." Trace thought.

"What are you giving me that 'barely-concealed-anger' look?" Amy asked quietly. "You said to–"

Razeo unleashed his Ultra Static Knock Out Punch on Amy, which was anything but static since it sent him flying into the mansion with numerous crashes.

And apparently into the back yard.

_**BOOM!**_

"I've been VIOLATED!" he cried, running back and forth stepping on Daniel and Trent each time. Sean and Trace stood silently as the redhead and carrothead tackled Razeo, and a cloud of smoke rose from inside and behind the mansion.

"What's going on here…?" Bunny asked innocently, holding a bag from the mall in her mouth as she hopped over to the two guys. Yes, Bunny hops, original isn't it?

"I don't think I could explain even if I wanted to." Sean muttered. Trent threw Daniel and Razeo over in front of them, pouncing onto the latter's back. Daniel went to attack them, but Razeo raised a leg and racked him something fierce.

"Dear sweet Lord!" Trace cringed in pain, shielding Thomas' manhood. Sean fainted and Bunny looked on in confusion.

"Ichigo's…never gonna…have kids…now…" Daniel fell to the ground in the fetal position, his hands between his legs. Suddenly a loud rumbling was heard, and everyone stopped as Jaylene, Manikha's doppelganger, exited out of the smoke from the front door.

"What the…?" she wondered. "What was that loud noise?"

Yeah. Makes you wonder how she could have ignored all the carnage going on around her for a sound, doesn't it?

"Oh. I think I might have screwed up…" Razeo mentioned.

"What did you do?" Sean yelled.

"I was using my thinking grenades, and I might have…" he scratched his cheek, "accidentally destroyed one of their little anti-hollow things…"

"YOU WHAT?" everyone but Razeo shouted.

"Oh, you all look fun enough to eat!" A conveniently-appearing hollow said with an evil smile. The whole group stared up at the hollow, who in turn just stared back at them.

"BITCH TITS!" Razeo screamed as he materialized a bat and ran to attack the hollow.

"Thomas is _so_ going to kill us." Trace sighed, holding his head in his hands.


	24. Raid!

**READERS BEWARE!  
THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM RECENT EVENTS FROM THE MANGA.  
IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE STORY TO BE RUINED,  
PLEASE SKIP THE AUTHOR'S NOTE SECTION!**

Author's note: I first want to say that Tite Kubo (the creator of Bleach) ruined my story somewhat. In the newest chapter Ichigo has completely lost his shinigami powers. Chances are this is not permanent, so technically he shouldn't have his powers in my story. To make things worse Bleach is on a two-week hiatus (which isn't as bad as that month without One Piece. Oh the horror!) so we do not know anything as of yet. Besides, it's too late in my story to reflect the new changes. Also, be prepared for a lot of jumping around in the story. You have been warned! So please review after you read. Enjoy.

**Chapter 23: Raid!**

"This is where we part ways," Thomas told the party as they arrived down the stairs. After making sure Ichigo was well enough for battle, the gang searched the small cottage looking for a switch. For some odd and unknown reason, it was in the fridge, which happened to be the only place they didn't look. If Corey wasn't such a fatty who was constantly hungry, they would not have found the secret entrance way.

"Why are we splitting up? It would be better if we stuck together," Ichigo protested the plan.

"This isn't a horror movie," Courtney so kindly pointed out.

"Besides, not including the pathway we came from, there are five separate ways for us to travel. We don't have the luxury of time to go down and search each path," Shuhei added.

"Hey Rukia, do you also have this strange déjà vu feeling?" Renji questioned.

"Yes. It feels like we've been in this exact situation before," Rukia responded.

"So what's the plan?" the other three less important and mainly used as supporting characters reapers asked.

"Well, there are five pathways and five of us," Thomas sighed, "I think it should be obvious."

"I still think we should stick together," Ichigo commented.

"You know what Ichigo?" Thomas let out a huge sigh, "I don't like what you're saying about me."

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything about you," Ichigo wondered.

"Yes you did. Each time you said we should 'stick together' you were saying that I was weak," he started to rant.

"I didn't..." Ichigo started before being cut off.

"Let me finish! You were saying that I, no my team was weak. Well let me tell you something 'One Five'. My friends and I are strong. Way stronger than any of you guys. We can take care of ourselves just fine. Even if that wasn't the case, I have faith in my friends to let them go off on their own. I will not lave you questioning my leadership abilities. I know your type oh too well," Thomas ranted. Renji was about to step in and defend Ichigo, but Shuhei once again stopped him from doing so.

"What do you mean my type? All I did was offer a simple suggestion and here you are biting my head off. Will you cut a guy some slack?" Ichigo snapped back.

"Fine call it whatever you want," Thomas sighed as he calmed himself down. "I am sorry for going off on you. If it will make you feel any better, you can assign people from your team to accompany members from mine."

"I'm not going with one of them!" Manikha and Corey protested this suggestion.

"Why the hell not?" Ichigo questioned their questionable actions.

"Don't bother with them," Courtney told him.

"Hisagi, do you mind?" Thomas asked.

"No not at all," Shuhei responded. Apparently Thomas' glance has explained exactly what he wanted and why. Everyone stared at them, wondering exactly what information was exchanged between the two of them.

"Okay everyone, listen up because I am only going to explain this once," Thomas announced rallying up his troops. "I am going to divide us into teams and I don't want to hear any whining (Corey), moaning (Rachel), complaining (Manikha), or bitching. Otherwise, I will end your life here!" The look and tone of his voice explained it all. Sure Thomas may be nice and easy going most of the time, but when he got serious like this, he meant business. "Starting with the far left passage way," he pointed to the first of the five openings, "It'll be Corey and Manikha, Hisagi, Ichigo and me, Courtney and Renji, and finally Rukia and Rachel. I actually put a lot of thought into this and I did my best to make you people happy and try to balance out and compliment your powers and abilities. Does anyone have any questions?" Thomas asked. Everyone raised their hand, fearing they will be snapped at if they just started to vocalize their opinions. "None? Good, let's move out!" The team reluctantly split up and each headed into their own passageways.

_(A/N): I know what is coming up is going to be weird, but I do not want to write five separate full on battles. Well four actually. So I am going to pull a "Desert Princess and the Pirates" here and just skip around and focus on three main parts of the battle. Please bear with me._

**Journey To the West**

Corey and Manikha arrived at a normal door at the end of their corridor. When they opened the door, however, things started to get weird. The room they arrived at looked like some weird ancient ruins. The floor was buried in sand with broken columns sticking out from the ground and scattered around the room. Then there was the heat; the room really did feel like a desert.

"Well, well, well," a familiar female voice chuckled, "what do we have here?"

"That voice," Manikha started.

"You know it?" Corey asked.

"Yes, and you should too," the brown-haired girl snapped. Manikha and Corey looked up, and there standing on one of the few un-broken pillars was the blue hair member of the Crusaders, Vivian.

"It's that Vivi chick!" Corey stated the obvious.

"No shit Sherlock!" Manikha sighed. Dealing with Corey can be such a pain at times she had to admit.

"I agree with her," that Vivi chick sighed, "we've run into each other so many times...you're just an idiot." She tugged on her pinky ring to reveal her weapon of choice, the slasher. "Just prepare to die!"

"Cascade!" Manikha commanded as she called forth her sword. Her blade quickly morphed into an aqua blue pike staff.

"Blaze!" Corey summoned his blade, but nothing happened.

"Don't worry Corey, just leave all the fighting to me," Manikha mocked. Even the blue-haired Crusader let out a small chuckle.

"I think I know who I am going to take out first," Vivi stated as she vanished from the pillar. Corey was shaking his sword trying to force it to go to its release state somehow. Sparks flew as the slasher made contact with the pike staff. Sadly enough, Manikha saved Corey from his own incompetence.

"Corey! Pay attention during the battle!" the brown-haired teen scolded her partner. Corey stood in shock; he could have been killed by that one attack.

"You should listen to her you stupid boy!" the Crusader cracked an evil chuckle.

**Journey to the West**

"What's behind door number one?" Shuhei thought as he arrived at the end of his hallway. There was a blue door at the end of a randomly well-lit hallway. He paused for a minute to contemplate his course of action. "Chances are there is a powerful enemy behind this door. One who I might not be able to take out on my own. Knowing my luck, that will probably happen." He let out a sigh, but not one of distress, one of acceptance. If that made any sense. He pushed the door opened and came across some surprising scenery as well.

The room seemed like it was in an endless, open field. It was night time, like in the outside world, with the moon in full view. Yet it somehow seemed like it was bigger and closer. The grass was a vibrant green, even though it was dark. Finally, in the middle of the field stood a lone sakura (cherry blossom) tree in full bloom. Its bright pink petals could have been seen from a mile away. That when he saw a silhouette leaning against the tree. Shuhei took a deep breath and slowly started to make his way to the tree, thinking he would be better off tackling his opponent head on. After all, he had no way of knowing what abilities he may possess.

"Do you always make it a habit to enter someone's room without permission?" a calm and deep voice questioned the shinigami who arrived at the tree.

"Not really," he replied, trying to get a decent look at the mysterious man.

"Well, welcome to my humble home," the gentle but deep voice greeted as bright yellow eyes glanced at Shuhei, sending chills down his spine.

"Your room sure is unique," Shuhei commented. There was really no way to describe what he was witnessing.

"Thank you kind sir," the stranger chuckled as he moved into the moonlight, allowing Shuhei to get a good look at his enemy. The one Shuhei believed to be the only male member of the Crusaders wasn't exactly as he depicted as an artistic or at least nature appreciating soul. He was a muscular and well-built man. He had black pants that seemed kind of loose fitting, while his sleeveless shirt formed around every muscle, showing him off in the moonlight. His hair was light golden color, but it was cut short, and styled in a faux-hawk. I don't know how to describe that in words exactly. What really caught Shuhei's attention was the guy's left arm. There was a metal attachment that surrounded it, with three metal points retracted.

"Who are you?" the teen questioned the young adult male.

"You come into my room, don't introduce yourself, and ask for my name?" the man chuckled yet again. "It's a bit rude if you ask me."

"I'm sorry," Shuhei bowed, "I'm Hisagi Shuhei, lieutenant of Squad Nine." The man looked confused for a second. Then with the sound of metal clashing, Shuhei was using his blade to keep back the stranger's mysterious claw from hitting his neck.

"I don't know or care what a squad nine is," the stranger told him as he applied force, "I am known as Deep Blue."

**Journey to the West**

"This is a really creepy room," Courtney pointed out as she looked around.

"It's a little too cutesy for my taste," Renji made a barfing noise that made the female smile. Honestly, what person has a room such as this? What really crept the teens out the most was the fact that there were stuffed animals and dolls lined up on each and every wall. To makes things worse, it was a really big room. There must have been thousands and thousands of toys. To top things off, the expressions on the toys is what sent chills down their spine. They weren't happy or sad. They had a tone of neutrality on their face.

"Too bad you can't use fire Renji," the female sighed, "I would really like to burn all evidence of this room from existence."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a girlish voice chuckled. Yes, all the members of the Crusaders chuckle for some odd reason. They're evil, deal with it...you're not dealing with it, are you?

"Of course," the two teens sighed, "figured this room would belong to a little girl." They were disappointed when they say a blond girl that looked no older than 15 walk into the room.

"My name is Angelica," she giggled, "let's play." In the blink of an eye, an explosion erupted behind the two reapers.

"What the hell?" Renji gasped as he turned around. Courtney stared her opponent down, but the Gothic Lolita (I already described her back in chapter 14.) was innocently smiling.

"It was that girl," the teen girl pointed out, "she did something." The two teens looked at her suspecting, waiting for something major to happen. Although they had no idea what to expect from this little girl. With a quick movement of her hand, the two teens jumped to their sides to avoid the attack. Smoke wafted from the end of a giant barrel.

"Whoa! Where did she get that bazooka?" Renji questioned.

"I think the question is, where can I get one of those?" Courtney corrected with awe in her eye.

"I am a weapons expert," Angelica giggled, "and one of my many abilities is absolute scope."

"What does that mean exactly?" the red-head wondered. He was confused on so many levels.

"It means we're screwed," the blue/black-haired girl answered, "she can't miss." Angelica just giggled.

**Journey to the West**

"Barging into other people's room is quite rude isn't it?" a stern female voice questioned Rachel and Rukia as soon as they entered the door at the end of their hallway. The two females got a good look at their opponent. The woman was quite a tower of force, as she was much taller than the two teen girls. She had leather pants, really high heel shoes, although she was tall enough without them, a black bra, to cover her woman hood, and a skin tight leather jacket that had fluff at the end of the arms, around the neck, and the outer trim. (I don't know the technical terms for parts of the clothing.) She had dark blue eyes that match the equally blue hair that flowed down to reach her waist.

"I'm sorry?" the two females questioned.

"It doesn't matter," the woman sighed. "I'm Paola, and this encounter was going to happen sooner or later, so let's get this cat fight over so I can go back to minding my own business."

"Well that's the most enthusiastic reason to fight I ever got," Rukia remarked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Well I get where she is coming from," Rachel guessed. Each girl analyzed the other, trying to figure out exactly what they can do, fighting style and the like.

"I'll start things off," Paola boasted, "Twister." A twister formed in the room and rushed at the girls. Rachel quickly dispersed it.

"I can use wind, so stuff like that won't work against me," Rachel explained. Something didn't seem right to her. There was almost no fighting intent behind the attack. Chances are she didn't want to fight. Perhaps she coulduse this to their advantage.

"Dance!" Rukia commanded.

"Blow!" Rachel followed suit.

**Journey to the West**

"My, you are the dictionary definition of all talk," Vivi crackled as she applied pressure from her foot. She had Corey lying flat on his back, sword across the room, and her foot on his neck. She rapidly spun the slasher, rapidly picking up momentum.

"Help me," Corey choked as he pleaded to Manikha.

"No, why should I?" she questioned with insubordination. "You're the one who told me to 'sit back and let you handle this fight all by yourself'."

"Well I was wrong," he struggled to breathe. Vivi removed her foot from his neck but applied all her weight on his chest, having a clear slashing shot at his neck.

"If you don't do something soon, I will kill him," the blue-haired 'maiden' taunted.

"Fine," Manikha sighed. She placed her sword horizontally between her palms, "Cascade!" She slammed her hands together causing a splash of water, and when she pulled them back, a pike staff appeared. "Oh wait, did you say you were going to kill him?"

"Yes, yes I did," Vivi boasted, albeit confused by the question.

"Oh then go ahead," the pike-wielding teen sighed, "He told me not to interfere, no matter what."

"You should know when to interfere and when to stand back," the male defended his stance.

"Shut up you man!" the maiden snapped. "Well, you should do something though. If not it's lights out."

"Oh," Manikha commented, unfazed by any emotions, "by all means do it."

"I will, don't think I won't," she argued.

"Go ahead, you have my permission."

"I guess I will."

"Go ahead, I am waiting," Manikha coaxed.

"If that what you wished," she smirked. With one swift movement and surprising not that much blood as one would suspect, Corey's decapitation took place.

"You bitch, you killed him!" Manikha shouted.

"Told you I would," Vivi argued backed.

"I know what you said," she scoffed, "I was trying to call your bluff." Manikha ran past the Crusader, practically pushing her out of the way, to rush to her friend's side. "I shouldn't have gambled your life," she apologized halfheartedly. She placed the edge of her staff at his forehead, "Be at peace." In a flash of light, Corey's spirit was sent to the Soul Society.

"You sent him?" the blue-haired girl wondered as she stood up and brushed herself off.

"Yes," she solemnly sighed, "guess his MOD soul gets to keep his body. Although, I find it weird he called his MOD Roxas, instead of his given name, Casey."

"I'm sorry for your loss, but don't worry, you'll be with him soon!" Vivi reassured the reaper.

"Not going to happen!" Manikha stated, "I'm going to fight serious for once!"

**Journey to the West**

The sound of metal classing filled the silent air. Neither end was giving up the fight. With a mighty kick, Blue kicked Shuhei against the lone tree that stood in the middle of the field. Before the reaper had time to recover, the Crusader launched a powerful punch.

"That would have hurt if it made contact," Shuhei gasped as he barely dodged it.

"Damnit, I hate when this happens," Blue cursed as his claw got stuck in the tree. Sparks were flying off the metal weapon; clearly it had an enhanced power up.

"It seems that he added electricity to his attack, using his metal claw as a conductor," Shuhei took a mental note. Although, he should not know this considering that this is not a common occurrence in the Japanese Soul Society. "Though, it shorted out when it hit the tree, which means wood cannot support the electrical current." The Crusader pulled out his claw and turned his sight on the reaper once more.

"Let's try this again," Blue smirked as he launched himself at Shuhei. Clashing metal filled the air once again as the swordsman parried each blow with his sword. The claw man did not have much of a chance to be able to land a blow, or at least a successful one. This did not last too long however. Blue managed to pick up and increase his speed at a steady pace, while Shuhei had a hard time keeping up with the onslaught. Then, with one faithful blow, the reaper was knocked to the ground, with his opponent standing above him in victory.

"Are you ready to die?" Blue questioned as his claw started to glow an ominous green color.

"Nah," Shuhei grinned as he tossed something at Blue, "you first." The Crusader did not have much time to react as the famous armband that Shuhei was seen wearing exploded upon impact. The reaper rose to his feet and took his fighting stance since he knew that would not be enough to take out someone of this caliber.

"That is it man," Blue groaned, "you're dead!"

**Journey to the West**

Explosions filled the air along with the innocent laughter of a little girl as she continued to rapidly fire with no target in mind. Truly she was having some fun not using her sniping ability.

"Where does a girl her age learn to wield firearms like that?" Renji questioned as he was dodging the barrage of bullets.

"She must have gone to public school," Courtney responded, taking pride at dealing a blow to the public education system. The barrage ended for a couple of seconds; Angelica must have needed to reload. The two teens used this time to catch their breath.

"Renji, we are in serious need a plan now," Courtney panted, trying to breathe.

"I agree," he agreed. "What can we do though? I don't have time to get in a direct attack since she quick on the draw, and you are not able to hit her with your lightning since she dodges right before you make contact."

"Your sword can extend, am I right?" she asked.

"Yes," he responded.

"Can you distract her long enough for me to get in at least one attack?" she wondered.

"You can count on me," he approved.

"Oh, what are we talking about here?" Angelica wondered as she joined the huddle, unbeknownst to the two teens. "Are we telling secrets? I love secrets!" The two reapers were frozen in place by fear. How did she manage to get near them without them not knowing? Before they could get a word in, the little girl blew them away.

"Roar! Zabimaro!" Renji called out. His blade rapidly extended and reached Angelica's personal bubble. Inches away before it made contact a single shot hit Renji, knocking him back a couple of feet. A little girl screamed out loud in pain, Courtney managed to make contact. It was not that strong of a bolt, but she landed an attack.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that!" a crispy, darkened Angelica screamed. She vanished, which was not a good sign. All the stuffed animal's eyes glowed red as they focused on the two teens.

"This looks promising," Courtney sighed.

**Journey to the West**

"What is this," Rachel wondered, as she struggled to stand up. "I thought you used wind based attacks."

"I am sorry girlie," Paola let out a huge laugh, "you have me pegged wrong."

"Some of your attacks incorporated wind in them," Rukia pointed out, "although it has sort of an ancient feel to it. What kind of power do you use?"

"I'm sorry sister, I am not going to tell that to you, my enemy," the Crusader chuckled, amused by this question, "isn't figuring out your opponent's powers part of the fun of fighting?"

"Sound like something Thomas or Courtney would say," Rachel remarked.

"That is true," Rukia sighed, then something popped into her head. Something she noticed.

"I would say this much though," the enemy noticed, "you did a nice job of ripping my clothes. I am going to change. I recommend you use this time to come up with a plan or something. If you don't I will kill you." She slowly walked out of sight to change. They did not have much time to come up with a strategy, since they were in her room.

"Hey Rachel, I have a plan that might work," Rukia whispered.

"I am down for anything," Rachel agreed.

**Journey to the West**

"That's it, I am done with you!" a beaten up Manikha shouted as she broke free from Vivi's slasher chains.

"Oh, there's no way you can beat me!" Vivi boasted as she retracted a numerous number of slashers.

"No there is, although it makes me stronger..." the teen started but cut herself off.

"Stronger, but what?" Vivi asked out of curiosity. "Does it take your life? Make you lose your power? What?"

"No, I just don't like the way I look when I use the final release of my sword," Manikha confessed.

"You reached the evolved state?" the maiden gasped in disbelief. This was not in the report that she had read.

"Evolve!" Manikha commanded. Her pike staff exploded into in water and wrapped around the teen girl, almost like a crystallized cocoon.

"That is so pretty," the Crusader remarked at the beauty of the blade. "Reminds me of when I evolve." The cocoon hatched revealing something shocking, and really girly. Manikha had on blue caprice with a matching blue top that showed her midriff. She donned blue boots that reached halfway to her knees. There were also blue wrist bands, one longer than the other. What was most surprising was the fact that she had butterfly wings, almost like she was a fairy.

"Cascading tides, Misty," she revealed the full name of her blade. It seemed to be a custom of all reapers, no matter where they were located. Vivi was too stunned by the beauty of the wings to even fight now. It was almost like an eternal peace took over her body. "Tsunami Surge!" Manikha sent a rushing wave of water to wash away the Crusader. Thus securing her victory.

**Journey to the West**

"Reap! Kazeshini (Wind Death)!" Shuhei commanded his blade. He managed to stop Blue for a moment, and he planned to use this to his advantage. Blue was disorientated from Shuhei's combination of explosives and flash steps to be aware of what exactly was going on. With a powerful throw, Shuhei used one part of his blade to wrap around and chain up Blue, to stop him from moving. The reaper pushed with all his strength, slamming the Crusader member against the tree. He held his other blade to the neck of his opponent, almost wanting to take his life.

"You have me pinned, finish me off!" Blue ordered, becoming aware of what was going on.

"No! I am the winner of this hard battle," Shuhei commented, "It is my decision of whether or not to end your life."

"Fine do whatever, I don't care!" the Crusader scoffed. He had never lost a battle before. "Wait, there is something important I must tell you, do you have time to listen?"

"What does this information pertain to exactly?" the reaper inquired.

"It is the secret heavily guarded by the Crusaders, and what exactly our boss plans to do," Blue explained.

"Go ahead and talk," Shuhei allowed, but not enough to let down his guard.

**Journey to the West**

"Now Renji!" Courtney gave the signal to the red-headed teen who was surrounded by his broken Bankai sword. Or at least that what they wanted Angelica to believe.

"I got this, use this moment to use your final release, whatever it's called!" Renji told her.

"I hate that form, but I will!" she responded. Angelica looked back and forth between the two teens wondering what was going on.

"Spirit Energy (Reiatsu) Ropes!" the male reaper announced his attack. The segments revolved around the young girl, in no particular pattern, creating a rope to constrain his enemy. Courtney appeared above the Crusader, surrounded by an electrical field so no one could see her final form.

"Witness the mighty judgment cast down by Surge!" she called out. A powerful beam of lighting poured down from the sky and struck the Crusader full force. Renji quickly called back his blade so it wouldn't suffer damage from Courtney's attack. The 'storm' cleared and the female reaper returned to her normal state.

"I think you might have overdone it a bit," Renji commented, pointed to a blackened young girl lying on the floor. Smoke was pouring out, but somehow she was still alive.

"No, I held back," Courtney confessed. "I only used one million bolts. That particular attack is two million bolts minimum."

"Still," Renji sighed, "by some miracle she is still alive."

"I don't think these Crusaders are human like they claim. I think there is something bigger going on here," Courtney shared her thought.

"Too bad you fried her to the point where we can't gather intelligence," the red-headed teen casually mentioned.

"Shut up Renji!" the young woman sighed as she punched the male in his arm.

**Journey to the West**

"The mighty power of the dragon flows through me!" Paola boasted, "You had no chance of winning at the start!" Rachel glared at the woman. She had no right to talk down to them. She just had to keep her in place, long enough for Rukia's attack.

"I have no choice!" Rachel shouted, interrupting the flow of the battle. "Evolve!"

"So she has reached her final release?" Rukia wondered as she hid in the background waiting for her moment to strike. Although it was hard sticking to the battle plan, her battle plan. Rachel was surrounded by wind and when it dissipated, her final form was shown. Rachel was in a snow white kimono. The only color was from the blue feather patter and the red sash that kept it in place. She still had the same fans from the release state, but this time, there was only one. With a swish of her wrist, the Crusader was caught in a hurricane five strength tornado. Rukia appeared at the top with her sword pointing at the eye of the storm. She had a clear shot at Paola.

"Next Dance, White Ripple (Tsugi no mai, Hakuren)!" Rukia called the name of her attack. This time was different than how the move was normally executed. A pure white wave of ice surfed out of the blade and into the storm. Rukia ended her attack and appeared next to Rachel as the storm subsided. There, frozen in a block of ice was Paola, with a look of horror on her face.

"So that did work," Rachel said surprisingly as she called back her blade, returning to her first form.

"Well dragons have a natural weakness to ice," Rukia stated like it was common knowledge. The girls high-fived, proud that they have won the battle.

**Preview for Chapter 24: Grand Battle!**

Ichigo and Thomas reach the leader and a battle ensues. Now learning the true motives and the secrets of the crusaders, they must stop him before it's too late.


	25. SPECIAL: MODS

A/N: Once agian, my beta Viggorrah wrote another filler chapter for the month of November. I was busy with NaNoWrMo and college to get around to posting this. So please enjoy.

Back for another episode with our heroes' bodies and MOD souls, we find Razeo crouching on the edge of a building somewhere in town. He was locked into a game on his (actually Courtney's) iPod so he didn't hear Trace come up behind him until he smacked the back of his head.

"OW! You bastard, what was that for?" he yelled, glaring back at him.

"I've been looking for you."

"And that translates to hitting me upside the head, how?" he continued to glare.

"You could have made it a little harder to find you though." Trace scolded.

"'Harder'?" he repeated incredulously. "Dude the only reason you found me is because Thomas has a tracking device in Courtney's body."

"Tracking devi...what the hell are you talking about?" Trace pointed behind them. "Razeo I found you because you're too damn stupid to not take the phrase 'Cover your tracks' literally!"

Lo and behold, there was a bucket of blue paint and a long blue line that apparently tracked where ever Razeo had gone to his current position.

"People can't tell me stuff like that and expect me to know it's a figure of speech!" Razeo cried.

"BAKA!"* the other screamed as he punched him in the face. Trace's eyebrow twitched as he muttered, "Anata wa _baka_ desu..."*

"That's not very nice!" he complained of his sore jaw. "Nice left hook though."

"Really?" Trace scoffed in annoyed disbelief at his audacity.

"Yeah. Thomas has been working out."

"How is that fact even relevant to this conversation?" he inquired heatedly. "His body probably gained some muscle from me having to deal with YOUR DUMB ASS!"

"WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME NAMES?" Razeo sobbed. Trace hung his head and sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile hiding on a nearby roof, almost everyone else was watching the scene unfold from the safe distance away. Just in case things got hairy.

"No wonder Trace is our unofficial but unanimous leader! He's whipping that rebellious Razeo right back in line!" Bunny said happily.

"Actually the only thing Trace has succeeded in doing is making him cry." Daniel stated flatly.

"Why are we hiding?" Jaylene asked, bored.

"Because, like I've told you for the past thirty minutes, we're supposed to be taking care of the hollows Razeo let loose." Sean glared at her. "But seeing as none of us are even close to being at fault, we all voted to come here and make Razeo do it."

"We voted? When?" she wondered.

"Do you not pay attention at all?" Sean sighed in annoyance.

"Can't we kill them with love..?" Amy wondered, his hands exploring in his pants.

"Y'know normally that wouldn't be such a bad idea, but coming from you it just freaks the shit out of me." Trent replied with a blatantly terrified expression along with everyone else.

"We've really got to do something about Amy." Roxas sighed.

"You mentioned it first, so it's your job." Sean ordered.

"WHAT! You mentioned it last night you jerk! YOU do it!" Roxas yelled, pointing a finger at him.

"While your accusation may have some validity to it, the fact remains that the readers only know about you mentioning it so they'll believe me over you." Sean rattled off.

"THAT REASONING IS COMPLETELY UNSUBSTANTIATED!" Roxas fumed.

"Who the hell cares?" Daniel growled. "Shut up so we can eavesdrop."

Roxas drifted to the corner and cried in depression.

* * *

"I'm surprised there aren't more hollows around," Trace continued. Razeo stood.

"Yeah well, when you can shoot lightning why not kill hollows?"

"Umm, because you've been up here playing 'Mr. aahH!'** for three and a half hours."

"What are you, my stalker?" Razeo glared at him.

"No I'm not the stalker. That would be Thomas, as much as he doesn't want to admit it."

"Why are we talking about so many inside jokes?"

"I dunno. You started it."

"Shut up punk." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, the annoyed Razeo placed his foot on Trace's forehead. "You and your ragtag group of rejects need to leave me alone and go dispose of those hollows that are loose because of me."

"Since when did we become your trash crew?" Trace hit the foot from his face, glowering at him.

"Since I became the central nervous system. You are the lymphatic system."

"I didn't come here for an anatomy lesson."

"Well if you didn't come here for the anatomy lesson or to bring me food, why are you here? The losers we're forced to call friends are prolly missing you." A beat of silence followed and soon Razeo seemed nervous. "They're right behind me, aren't they?"

"Of course not; that's completely unrealistic. People can't just up and appear behind you. There's no roof to stand on." Trace frowned at his stupidity. Razeo shrugged and nodded his agreement. "Behind _me_, however, is a completely different story."

Behind Trace the group of very pissed off teens gathered behind him, a look of death on their faces and an assortment of weapons in their hands.

Razeo swallowed slowly as they all pounced on him, almost like in slow motion.

"Aaaa, kuso..."***

* * *

The phone rang, and he fumbled inside his pocket to bring out the device.

"H-Hello?"

_"Hey Razeo."_

"GAH Courtney!" he paled.

_"What do you mean 'Gah Courtney'?"_

"I-I mean, I didn't expect to hear from you..._right at this second_."

_"Why? What are you doing?"_

"Oh, heh, um. Nothin' that's really worth mentioning.." Razeo glanced back behind him to find the group hot on his trail. "Oh for the love of-"

"RAZEO, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" Daniel shouted.

_"Who said something about my ass?"_ she inquired.

"Gyah! Hahaha, no one! Your ass is fiiiiIIIIIINNNNEEEE!" Razeo jumped out of the way just as Daniel's large warhammer came crashing down, aiming for his head. "You asshole, I almost got turned into a Razeo-patty!"

"I'm gonna KILL YOU!" Trent promised, pointing his scimitar at Razeo's forehead.

"You wish period-head!"

"While I'm usually the nonviolent one, I can't forgive you!" Bunny said, starting a chainsaw.

"AHH seriously?"

"I'm just attacking you because there are no hollows around." Jaylene told him, holding the 'a' throwing star.

"Yeah..not too worried 'bout you." Razeo stated calmly with a bored look.

"Who, Jaylene?" Courtney wondered blindly in his ear.

"To be honest...I'd like to just bite you again..." Amy muttered, wielding an AK-47.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU PEOPLE LET THE PSYCHOPANT HAVE THE LONG-RANGE WEAPON?" Razeo pointed in horror.

"You've insulted me, which means you've insulted Shuuhei. The author won't have that." Sean announced, holding a scythe.

"Okay, 1) no it doesn't, and 2) the guest author likes Shuuhei too, 3) the guest author isn't afraid of the actual author." he replied through gritted teeth.

"Razeo what's going on?" Courtney was getting annoyed. "Put Trace on the phone."

"Trace...Trace...hey, any of you guys seen Trace?" he asked innocently. Everyone looked around, then wondering where their fearless and unofficial leader disappeared to. They glanced around for a few more seconds and then back at Razeo.

Who had also disappeared.

"Hey where the hell'd he go!" Trent shouted, seeing him a few roofs away. "Damn him! Come on guys!"

The group chased after him, and Courtney was getting antsy on the line.

_"RAZEO!"_ she yelled angrily.

"I'm looking! I'm looking! Where's Tr-" Looking to his right, Razeo's face came in contact with Trace's size 12 boot. Blood gushed from his nose as he fell off the roof and high-fived the ground with his face. Trace then turned to the renegade MOD teens.

"Get yourselves UNDER CONTROL!" With another mighty kick, Trace sent the closest teen, strangely Amy, flying in the air; as they watched, he disappeared into a star.

"Who the hell does he think he is, Sanji?" Trent wondered. Putting his leg down Trace closed his eyes and caught Razeo's phone as it spun toward the ground.

_"...Trace?"_

"Speaking." he said coolly.

_"WHAT THE __**(BEEP)**__ IS GOING ON THERE?"_ An annoyed Trace opened his eyes slightly as the phone flew from his ear from the intensity of Courtney's voice.

"I'm glad you sound unharmed." Trace stated bleakly. Everyone else (minus Razeo) hid behind each other from the wrath of the human reaper, and they couldn't even hear the rest of the conversation. Trace would just nod and mutter something every couple minutes and after a while he finally shut the phone and let out a long sigh.

"Trace..?" Sean started. He turned around and grinned at them. They grinned back. They were safe!

"She's gonna kill us.

Or..not.

"I suggest you enjoy your final breaths while you can, and refrain from beating the living bejesus out of Razeo. He _is_ in Courtney's body, after all and she's already pissed enough at us as it is."

Trace jumped off the roof and left the frozen-grinning group standing there. He grabbed the unconscious Razeo by the back of his shirt and dragged his body behind him as Trace walked into the sunset.

Well, he would have if Amy didn't hurtle down from the sky and land on his head. Gravity: 1, Trace: 0.

"Too bad that didn't kill me," he groaned.

* * *

*Japanese. "Baka" means "idiot" and "Anata wa _baka_ desu" means "You are an _idiot_".

**Very fun and addictive iPhone/iTouch game. Best part, it's free.

***More Japanese. Translates literally to "Ohhh, damn" or "Ohhh, shit".


	26. Grand Battle!

Author's note: Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates. For those of you who don't know, November was National Novel Writing Month. I decided to take part in it, thus putting the story on hold. I am sorry to state that I did not do as good as I thought I would do since college got in the way. Well there is always next year, and hopefully I will be successful. Sorry for how this chapter turned out. I really mean it. Don't forget to review after you read!

**Chapter 24: Grand Battle!**

"Are you ready for this Ichi?" Thomas asked his orange hair companion as they reached the end of the middle and _final_ hallway. The two teens arrived at a pair of oversized double doors that looked elegant and should belong to be big fancy, or really important building.

"Yeah I guess," he sighed with that scowl on his face. "I don't know why you're asking; it's just a battle like any other."

"Not really, it's a boss battle," Thomas corrected. "The final battle at that. Plus we know nothing about the opponent we are about to take on. For all we know our powers and abilities won't have any effect on him."

"Well if you put it that way," the orange hair teen sighed again. "Guess I can't stay too calm about it."

"That's it? Are you sure Orihime was kidnapped?" the raven-haired teen questioned with a grin on his face. "Are you sure she just didn't run away because the guy she loves might as well be a robot?"

"Guy she loves?" Ichigo wondered, "She doesn't love me!" Thomas sighed and opened the doors. He rushed in and started running towards a light. "She doesn't love me!" Ichigo shouted again as he started chasing after the teen.

Some time had passed as the two teens finally arrived at the master's room.

"Orihime!" Ichigo shouted as soon as he entered the room. He saw the orange hair girl passed out on the floor with tattered clothing. The orange-haired boy quickly rushed to her side.

"Ichigo," she weakly said, 'I knew you would come for me."

"Who did this to you?" the orange-haired man demanded to know.

"Other than the obvious," Thomas stated.

"I just wanted," she gasped, "I just wanted to to be useful and not be too dependent on you always coming to rescue me. I couldn't even do that much."

"Just be quite for now Orihime," Ichigo reassured her, "just rest and leave everything to me."

"No," Thomas told him, "leave everything to me. Ichigo is still weak from the battle he was involved as soon as he entered the house." Ichigo placed the young girl on a couch that was conveniently placed in the room. Ichigo wanted to argue with the teen, but he was slightly right. Out of the blue, a clapping noise was heard. It echoed, mocking the teens.

"Bravo, that was a touching story," a male voice commented.

"Would you say Oscar worthy?" the raven-haired teen asked.

"No, I wouldn't say that," the male voice shot the teen down. His silhouette could barely be made out in the current lighting of the room.

"I am never going to get an Oscar at this rate," Thomas sighed.

"Maybe it would help if you actually..." Ichigo started before getting a death glare from the other teen.

"Calm down killer," he told the other teen, "we've got more pressing issues right now."

"You're right Ichi," Thomas stated. "You there, what is the goal of the Crusaders? They've been after me and my friends for a long while and I demand to know what's up!"

"Oh my, you jump right to the point," the mysterious man chuckled and walked into the light. The moonlight made his long silver hair glow and radiate. He had bright, golden, hazel eyes that just seemed to glow. He was a statuesque man to top it all off. Thomas and Ichigo were pretty tall, but even he made them feel short. To top it all off, he was wearing a bright and pure white suit. The only color on his outfit was a yellow tie that matched his eyes."You don't even fake pleasantries before we do battle, how crass."

"Maybe I would have been a lot nicer if this confrontation was sooner," the raven-haired teen defended his honor.

"Well I am not the one to blame. You and your sad little group took forever to find my hideout. It's sad, I had to get one of my best members to run away and flee just to give you a hint to get here," the stranger mocked.

"Does that mean..." Ichigo started piecing everything together.

"No! That means you sent Molly to tell us where you were!" Thomas shouted his deduction.

"That is right. I need to get you little kids out of my way, but since you took your precious little time, you practically forced my hand," he continued to mock the teens efforts.

"That's it! You're a dead man!" Thomas growled and drew his blade. "I'll finish this right here and now! Rise from the ashes!" the teen called out, but nothing happened.

"Prohibition!" the man chuckled while pointing to a sigh.

"What does that have to do anything?" the orange-haired teen asked, confused at what turn the battle took early on.

"It's going to decide the battle," the man smirked, brushing a strand of hair behind his ear. "Why don't you explain it to your little friend there. He seems a bit confused." Thomas glared at the Leader.

"I'm not sure exactly, but I heard about it being used," Thomas confessed.

"Wait, you only heard rumors? That sounds promising," Ichigo sighed.

"Don't give me that! It's not my fault I don't encounter everything that's ever possible in battle," he sighed in frustration.

"Sorry, so what does it do?" the orange-haired teen was curious.

"It basically sets out the rules for battle. Whatever it says, everyone who in the battle must follow those rules until a victor emerges. Since it involves using special kind of battle magic, it must be set up in advance," he explained.

"So, when he told us we forced his hand, he really meant it?" Ichigo questioned.

"That is correct my boy," the leader congratulated the orange-haired teen. "One of the rules is that no soul cutters, zanpaktous, or soul swords may be released from their dormant state."

"That really limits our battling abilities," Ichigo cursed.

"Why would he want to limit the releases?" Thomas thought to himself, trying to figure everything out.

"Say, what's your name?" Ichigo asked.

"I go by many names, but call me Youko," he stated. The leader raised his hand.

"Youko? That not a common name. The only place I heard that name was..." Thomas got lost in his thoughts.

"Watch out!" Ichigo tackled Thomas to the ground, to avoid an attack.

"What was that for?" Thomas demanded to know the reason for Ichigo's actions.

"Hey show some gratitude! I saved your life!" Ichigo responded as he got off the teen. He pointed to the wall. On said wall, there were several leaves sticking out, almost like they were used as throwing knives.

"Thank you," Thomas quickly said and got up. He wasn't sure what they were up against but he decided to be on his guard. "Although if I can't draw my sword, I guess I'll have to use my battle spells."

"You can use that sort of stuff?" Ichigo questioned.

"Of course. What kind of person goes into battle with only one skill?" Thomas sarcastically asked.

"That is a good question," the leader agreed.

"Well about that," Ichigo started to chuckle nervously. "You stay out of this! Thomas, we don't have time for this!"

"You're right," Thomas did not want to admit as he returned his sword. "Before we break off into a huge battle, is there a diplomatic solution to this?"

"I'm afraid not," the leader scorned them with a smile. He swung his arm. Spinning leaves came flying at the teens. They quickly dodged the attack. Thomas rolled on the ground and landed on his knees.

"Battle spell 33, blue flame cannon!" Thomas called out as he placed his palms together. A sphere of light popped out and flew a few inches in front of the teen. With a mighty bang it exploded.

"Damnit Thomas! Watch where you aim that thing!" Ichigo scolded.

"Sorry Ichi, magic is not my forte," he confessed.

"Why didn't you use the incantation? Doesn't that make it more powerful?" Ichigo wondered.

"It does, but it's time consuming to use it in battle," he tried to explain.

"At least it will be more accurate and not blow up in your face!" the orange-haired teen fought back.

"At least I'm trying something!" the raven-haired teen retorted.

"I hate to break up this lover spat," Youko said as he appeared next to the teens. Wooden roots emerged from the ground, "but I have things to do!" the roots ensnared the teens, completely immobilizing them.

"I blame you for this," Ichigo stated with his trademark scowl.

"I blame Orihime for being useless," Thomas passed the blame. Ichigo stayed quite at that remark. "I'll take your silence as an agreement."

"I didn't say anything," Ichigo defended himself in a calm manner. He really did agree, even though it was not directly stated. The leader was chuckling at their pointless bickering. Clearly he was not used to people completely ignoring the fact that they are captured.

"So boss man?" Thomas broke away from his side conversation, "What are the plans of your organization exactly?"

"You opposed us without even knowing that?" Youko asked the teen.

"Pretty much. We were told to stop the Crusaders at all cost," the raven-haired boy sighed.

"Then you and your friends teamed up with him," Youko turned his attention to the other teen suspended in air by roots. "Why would you join forces with a person who does not even know what they are fighting for?"

"Circumstances were right," Ichigo answered.

"Because you captured the useless orange-haired girl," Thomas corrected. Ichigo glared at the teen hanging next to him. Thomas just smiled innocently, like he did nothing wrong.

"Well I guess I can tell you," he sighed then paused for a second, "but then you might stop me if you got yourself free."

"Oh come on," Thomas pleaded, "why can't you just tell us?"

"Figure it out for yourself," the leader told him, keeping the same smile on his face. He turned away from the teens and looked out the window.

"Is there something you can do to get us free?" Ichigo asked in a whispered tone of voice.

"Yes, if you do not mind being blown up again," the teen responded back.

"It's better than being molested by a plant," the orange-haired teen explained.

"Oh come on Ichi, I read the stories, I know you like it rough," the black-hairred teen chuckled.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing to worry about." Thomas glanced at the leader and hoped he was not looking at them, or will anytime soon. "Ichigo, when I break us free, go for a straight attack."

"No need to tell me twice," the orange-haired teen agreed.

"Good," Thomas smirked. "Battle spell 89! Ignis!" An explosion of fire took place where the teens were, getting rid of the entangling roots.

"Gotcha!" Ichigo declared as he rushed to skewer Youko.

"Oh to be young and so simple minded," the leader chuckled as he turned around. He caught the tip of Ichigo's blade with the palm of his hand.

"No way," Ichigo gasped.

"Flower Hurricane!" Youko muttered. Rose petals stormed out of his hand and knocked Ichigo clear across the room, slamming him against the wall.

"Shit," Ichigo cursed as he struggled to get up. "Why is he so powerful?" Youko smirked, proud of his attacked. He looked around the room, trying to find the other teen. After all, there were two people who were gunning for him.

"What are you doing?" he questioned when he saw Thomas by the prohibition sign, "Get away from there!"

"No can do," Thomas responded. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and clicked it.

"What is he planning to do?" Ichigo wondered. He shook his head clear of this thought. Right now, no attention was on him, this was the perfect time to strike. He flashed stepped behind the silver hair man and swung his blade. The man turned around and parried the attack with a thorny whip. The blade caused sparks as it slid across the man's weapon. Ichigo got back on his feet. "You're something else."

"Wish I could say the same for you," the man scoffed. Ichigo swung his sword again, but the man easily dodged it. Ichigo swung again, but ended up with the same results. With one more swing, Ichigo attacked. This pattern continued when Youko dodge with literally no effort. "You should give up; I can easily read your movements." He knocked the blade out of Ichigo's hands.

"Ichigo!" Thomas called out, "I thought you could take him out!"

"I'm working on it," Ichigo shouted back. "What are you doing over there?"

"I'm rewriting the rule," he answered, "but it's going to take some time."

"I'm not going to let you do that," Youko stated and swung his hand. The whip moved snake like towards the teen. With a swift kick, Ichigo changed the direction of the attack.

"Speed it up a bit!" Ichigo demanded.

"How dare you dirty my suit!" Youko shouted. Ichigo left a footprint on the arm he kicked.

"It was dirty the moment it went on you!" Ichigo shouted back.

"Good come back," Thomas remarked. There was a huge possibility that it was a sarcastic remark. The leader flipped his hair and tossed a rose at Ichigo. It stuck in his chest.

"That's it?" the orange-haired teen wondered.

"No, this is," Youko snapped his fingers. It exploded. Ichigo was covered in soot, but he seemed to be okay. Youko looked in disbelief before regain his composure. "Must have been a dud."

"How can a flower be a dud," Ichigo pondered. Which was a really good question. Youko pulled out several more roses. He tossed them at the teen, one at a tile. Ichigo flashed stepped away from each one moments before they exploded. "I need to get my sword," Ichigo thought as he saw it lying on the ground, tangled in the whip Youko used to attack him.

"I need to stop you from moving," Youko told him as he stuck out his arm, "Scarlet Masquerade," storm of rose petals came out of Youko's sleeve and surrounded Ichigo in veil of petals. Ichigo touched the veil with the tip of his finger and it was severely cut.

"Battle spell 79! Ventus!" a huge sphere of wind collided and subsided the attack.

"Thanks," Ichigo said as he ran towards his sword.

"No problem," Thomas smirked. He rose to his feet and drew his blade.

"So, finally joining the fray?" Youko asked. "Gave up on trying to rewrite my rules of the battle?"

"No, I successfully changed it," Thomas boasted. "Now prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!" Ichigo added. He had the blade pointed at Youko, stilled wrapped in the whip. "Ban.."

"No Ichigo!" Thomas stopped him, "Let me release my blade first!"

"What why?" Ichigo asked. He looked at the teen and noticed his other blade.

"When my blade goes into its first release state, it nullifies and restores all other blades back to their sealed state," Thomas explained.

"So if I were to use my bankai, my sword will go back to how it normally is?" Ichigo wondered.

"Yes," he sighed, "but no you're bankai wouldn't work regardless. You would have to use evolve as the release command."

"So that's why you hardly use your other blade," Ichigo understood.

"Yes, that's why..." Thomas started to say but then gasp at his realization. "That's why he stopped us from releasing our blade. Youko is the same name that soul sword had."

"So what, similar names do not mean anything," Youko said, but there was a panic in his voice.

"You better be going somewhere with this," Ichigo growled.

"Trust me I am. Youko has the same appearance of the last person who wielded it. I just cannot figure out why," Thomas continued.

"It's true," Youko sighed, "I do have the appearance of the same person who was the last person to wield me."

"Wield, but that means," Ichigo gasped.

"That's right, he is used to be a soul sword that previously belonged to a grim reaper," Thomas told him.

"So what? That Grim Reaper fell in love and decided to live life as a mortal. Completely leaving me behind!" Youko began to rant. "He did not even put me to rest! What the hell was I suppose to do? Just sit back and do nothing?"

"Yes," Ichigo answered the rhetorical question. "You come from his soul, you're supposed to be happy and support any decision he makes."

"When he dies you go back to the Spirit World, and wait until another Grim Reaper is born and you form a connecting with their soul!" Thomas added.

"I'm sorry that's not how I want it," Youko told them. He pressed a button and the roof started to split in half. "When the moon reaches the highest point in the sky, all swords shall be freed! They will take the appearance of the reapers that oppressed them so."

"I don't oppress my blade," Thomas shouted, "we work together. Since you're just another sword and I can finish this right here and now!"

"Oh, but even if you win, do you think your friends can beat my comrades?" Youko question.

"Yes!" Ichigo answered. "I know for a fact that our friends will not lose to them!" He rushed towards the leader. "Evolve! Zangetsu!" Ichigo quickly morphed into his bankai form. With a swift swing, blades of dark energy started flying towards Youko. The silver hair man jumped out of the way.

"Since you rewrote my rules, I can use my full power!" Youko announced. Light formed around the leaders hand. Thick tree roots shot up from the ground, almost creating a forest.

"Diamond Barrage!" Thomas called out as Burno was in its final evolved state. [Remember it goes: Sealed → Released → Evolved] The blade glow a faint purple and shards of diamonds shot out from the swing.

"Ha, it'll take a lot to cut these," Youko started to brag as the light grew stronger.

"Diamond is the strongest, it can cut through anything!" Thomas informed him. The room was quickly deforested.

"Orihime!" Ichigo shouted, hoping that she was okay.

"It's alright Ichigo!" Thomas called out to his partner, "I put up a barrier around her to make sure she's out of harm's way!" Ichigo nodded in acknowledgment. The two teens rushed towards Youko. He was easy to spot since he was emitting a light. They both jumped into the air and swung their swords. The two attacks shot out and merged together. Diamonds with a strong black glow shot out at Youko. The silver-haired man tried to get out of the attack's range, but it was futile. The man took on a little more than half the shards.

"We have to stop him!" Ichigo demanded.

"Thank you Captain Obvious!" Thomas shouted back. The two teens saw Youko running away and they gave chase. The room seemed bigger than it was, since they were running around every inch of it. Meanwhile the light kept growing in size.

"Shatter! Bruno!" Thomas called out. His blade broke apart and scattered in the wind. The teen sent the shard in Youko directions. In a blink of an eye, Youko was trapped in a whirlwind of diamond dust. Although it did not seem like it, the attack was very deadly. Ichigo sent a few of his dark energy blades along with the attack for good measure.

"Lunar Bomb!" Youko smirked as the light reached its greatest size. He casually tossed it up into the air. "In a few moments it will land on the grand, wiping everything out. Since you kids forced my hands, I decided to go down with you all as I take you down.

"Not if I can help it!" Thomas shouted. He jumped and flash stepped into the decent path of the attack. "Rise from the ashes! Fawks!" The attack and the young teen made contact.

UP NEXT: Chapter 25: Turn and Return!


	27. Turn and Return!

Author's note: Wow, after a year and a half, the story is over. Actually it's probably has been longer than that considering I had taken this story down for a short period of time. Well I want to thank everyone for reading and give special thanks for those who reviewed. Well, enjoy this last installment, and don't forget to review after you read. Once again, thank you for reading!

**Chapter 25: Turn and Return!**

_Previously on Journey to the West:_

_Shuhei was assigned to locate and evaluate some replacement captains by the Soul Society. Word got out that there were powerful soul reapers across the ocean and it was his mission to find out. Knowing that he could not do it alone, he sought out the substitute soul reaper Ichigo, along with fellow soul reapers Renji and Rukia to assist him in his mission. Leaving for America, Orihime decided to tag along for the mission. Not long after the gang arrived, Orihime was capture and the the group ran into the group of grim reapers who were thought to be assigned to the area. Shuhei and the others soon found out that since they were human born reapers, they would have to go through the life cycle before the Spirit world would accept them. Thomas, the leader of the grim reapers, accepted Shuhei offer to join the Soul Society, but first they had to take care of a mysterious organization known as the Roserade Crusaders, whose goal was to free the swords from the reapers who wielded them, not knowing that soul swords are the manifestation of that user's soul along with being an independent being as well. While going through a normal American school day, Thomas and Shuhei encountered a member of the Crusaders who with her help, discovered the secret base of the organization. With this knowledge in hand they reapers raided the secret location in order to put a stop to them once and for all. Oh, and to a lesser extent, to rescue the useless Orihime. Now Ichigo and Thomas are in he midst of a battle with the leader Youko._

"Rise from the Ashes! Fawks!" echoed through out Ichigo's ears as he saw Thomas soar towards the descending bomb of pure spiritual energy. This technique was a last ditch technique released by Youko. The leader of the Crusaders knew that he could not win against the two of them at all. So if he was going to go down, he was going to take down these two reapers with him. Ichigo watched every move Thomas was making, in hopes he was not going to do anything too reckless. For a moment there, it seemed that Thomas' release form was different then the only there time he saw it. It started as a bright red at his left shoulder and gradually got darker until it was black at his right leg. He had a pair of red wings that were floating behind him, but allowed him to fly and move at incredible speed, just like a phoenix. The only thing that worried him was the effect his blade had when it was released. Ichigo gripped his over-sized blade, after all, he was immediately transformed back to his American sealed state. To top things off, Youko was supposedly a rouge spirit from a sword. Things did not make much sense, but all he cared for was the fact that his side was winning.

"It's over!" Thomas shouted. The raven-haired teen swung his blade and threw it into the eye of Youko's final attack. The sword only flew a short distance before colliding with the impending bomb. With a mighty explosion, the attacks canceled each other out. Small, glimmering, balls of lights radiated from the explosions, making the moment almost seem like magic. The sound of sparkling filled the air, if that makes sense.

"Guess this is it," Ichigo muttered with an expression of relief on his face. He turned to face Youko, but the fiend was gone. Ichigo quickly looked around, "Where the hell did that bastard go?" The teen survey the room. Thomas quickly landed next to Ichigo and looked around as well. It was obvious that he noticed the disappearance of the mastermind as well.

"He couldn't have gotten that far," Thomas cursed. He closed his eyes in hopes that he could sense the spirit energy that would be emitting from him.

"Wait, if he a sword, you don't think he got nulled by your blade do you?" Ichigo asked.

"No, we wouldn't be that lucky," Thomas responded. "He been preparing for this battle for quite a while, so there a very good chance that he had something planned."

"That is true," Ichigo sighed and started to grow frustrated.

"I sense him!" Thomas announced. The ground below the two teens started to rumble as a giant bean stalk like plant stem emerged from the ground. A giant, crimson rose bloomed from the tip. Roots took over the ground, while vines and stems took over the wall.

"Orihime!" Ichigo shouted, concerned for her safety.

"Now's not the time for that," Thomas scolded him, trying to keep his cool.

"Time for you meddling kids to die!" Youko shouted. Vine ensnared the two teens, not giving them much leeway. They hung suspended in air for a few minutes until Ichigo started to violently scream. The giant flower started to laugh evilly, assuming that he had the upper hand.

"This is ridiculous," Thomas let out a deep sigh. In a burst of flame, he erupted from the entanglement with little problem. Then with a couple of slashes, he freed Ichigo from entanglement. Although they were not exactly. Rose whip like vines fenced the two teens in, while flowers emitted a strange aroma, messing up their senses.

"You will never escape me now!" Youko told them. The voice seemed to be coming from the giant rose on top of the stalk.

"Hey Ichi," Thomas called his friend's attention.

"What do you want?" he answered back.

"Stay close to me and protect yourself."

"Protect myself from what?"

"Mainly me. I can finish this once and for all right now, but you might get swept away in the sea of flames, and I don't want to be responsible for your death."

"It's fine, I've suffered through worst. I doubt your flames can be any worse than some of the battles I've been in."

"Hey, this is no time to undermine my power!"

"Shut up! This is no time to be fighting! Just get with the action!"

"If you say so Ichi!" Thomas smirked. With a few flash steps Thomas was in the air. The giant rose slowly rose to match gaze with the air born teen.

"Everything you do will be meaningless against me now!" the flower mocked.

"Flame Commandment!" Thomas thrust his sword skyward and it began to glow a bright, deep, crimson color. "At least I am not some weakling who has to attack my enemies with illusions!"

"Illusions?" Ichigo gasped, "That would explain why I was screaming out in pain."

"My true power is unleashed! There's no way you can take me on!" Youko's boast echoed throughout the room.

"I do not need my full power to take defeat you!" Thomas' wings had the same glow as the sword. He swung his blade and pointed towards the ground. "Flame Tower!" A flaming vortex surrounded the teen. It stretched from the floor to where the ceiling is suppose to be. It rapidly grew bigger and larger with each passing second. No one knew why it was called Flame Tower considering it was more like a hurricane. The technique burned everything in its path. The fire slowly started to condense into a huge sphere of fire, with Thomas floating behind it. "Inferno Tempest!" The attack launched at the main flower, engulfing it in flames as well. Thomas landed on his feet, looking pleased with himself. Youko screamed out in pain.

"That attack is too hot to handle," Ichigo chuckled. Thomas quickly punched the orange-haired teen, knocking him off his feet. "What was that for?"

"I hate puns!" the raven-haired teen defended his actions. The attacked subsided and the now burnt rose slowly fell to the ground. Thomas returned his power back to its sealed state. The two teens quickly rushed towards the giant burnt rose, but stayed on their guard.

"It should be over," the both stated. Ichigo had his sword pointed at the flower while Thomas removed the petals. One right after the other, the black-haired teen removed the petals. After a long while, Thomas finally removed enough to see a burned to a crisp Youko, nearly knocked out.

"I lost," the silver hair man admitted. He slowly sat up. It was clear that he was not able to fight anymore. Also, it seemed that he did not have anymore tricks up his sleeves either, so they were safe for now.

"What do we do now?" Thomas wondered. He didn't actually plan for this. Sure he talked about it, but never thought bout what would happen afterward.

"I guess you unleash your power again so he can fade away or whatever you sword does," Ichigo suggested. He was too tired to actually form a good sentence. Youko looked fearful at that suggestion. What kind of person would go through all this trouble, just to fade into nothingness?

"No that's too cruel," Thomas sighed, "I am just going to send him, and hope that my friends have sent the other Crusaders."

"Are your friends really that dependable?" Ichigo questioned.

"It's hit miss really," Thomas shrugged.

"So, you're not going to finish me off?" You asked.

"No, why would I?" Thomas wondered.

"Well I put you and your friends through hell. My group and I have caused you problems, both physically and mentally," He continued.

"I am going to stop you right there," Thomas stopped him. "I get what you're saying but I am not that kind of person. I only kill when it is absolute necessary. There's no rule out there saying I have to kill you if I beat you. Truth of the matter is, I won. Since I am the victor, I get to choose and decide your fate." Youko sighed. He knew this teen was right on the money with his explanation. Thomas turned his sword around to he point where the hilt was pointed at the adult man.

"Hurry up and send him," Ichigo commanded with his trade mark scowl.

"Thanks for ruining the moment Ichi!" Thomas snapped at the other teen. With a forceful strike, the dark-haired teen stamped Youko's forehead, thus initiating the sending process. His body had a faint blew glow around it. He gently floated to the sky as firefly like lights filled the air and took control of the room. Youko turned to face the teens and hung suspended in the air.

"Now being cleansed, I have seen the errors of my ways and now I know what it truly means to be free. The path I was following would have," Youko started to monologue but soon stopped. "It doesn't matter much anymore." Thomas sheathed his blade and soon Bruno began to have the same glow as well. It drifted a few feet away from Thomas and took on a human shape.

"Jerry?" Thomas asked.

"Who the hell...?" Ichigo was about to ask. Thomas quickly elbowed the other teen in his side, causing him to collapse to the ground.

"Jerry, I thought I will never see you again," the teen spoke softly.

"Oh you would have sooner or later," he chuckled. "That is not why I am here though."

"No one ever comes to see me unless they have business," Thomas playfully huffed and pretended to be offended. Jerry laughed at this. He seemed to get the joke. Youko gazed and patiently waited in the sky.

"I am here to let you know that Bruno is going to be sent as well," Jerry solemnly stated.

"I see," Thomas sighed, "I knew this day would come."

"I am sure you did," Jerry mocked.

"Yes, I did. I have full control of my power now. I don't need to fall back on your power anymore."

"I am glad I was able to help you as much as I could."

"Thank you," Thomas said with a tear in his eye.

"Are you going to cry?" Jerry inquired, even though he knew the answer.

"What? No!" Thomas laughed, "All these light that add effect to stuff got into my eye and it burns." They both smiled. Jerry floated up to where Youko was. They both flew into the sky, soon followed by the rest of the Crusaders.

"Well this was a crappy ending," Thomas sighed, "but at least it's over."

"That was a gay moment between you and that Jerry guy," Ichigo stated. Thomas glared at the orange-haired teen and kicked him hard in the shin.

"Say anything and I will tell everyone what I heard you and Renji doing."

"Don't! I'll behave!" Ichigo panicked and agreed.

"Random shot in the dark," Thomas thought to himself. Orihime ran up to the teens.

"I somehow escaped harm throughout the whole ordeal," she told the two male teens.

"You're still useless," Thomas told her.

"I am just glad your safe," Ichigo reassured her.

"Let's gather everyone and head home," Thomas instructed. The other two orange-haired teens agreed.

**Journey to the West**

After the events that took place at the secret base of the Crusaders, all the teen returned to Thomas' house to take a much needed rest. Once everyone was awakened, all the foreigners packed up their stuff and the Americans took them to the airport. Equipped with plane tickets back to Japan, they all prepared to say their farewells.

"Well I guess this is good bye," Ichigo stated, not showing emotion.

"Yeah I guess so," Courtney sighed. She sort of fell for Ichigo, but could not bring herself to admit her feelings.

"It was fun," Orihime added, trying to hold back her sorrow.

"Yes it was," Manikha smiled, thinking back to a certain event.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Rukia bowed.

"It was nothing," Rachel responded.

"Well if you're ever in our neck of the woods, look us up," Renji suggested.

"We will do that," Courtney told him.

"Hey, where is Thomas?" Shuhei wondered.

"He said he had some business to take care of," Courtney started to explain, "but he said he would be here to see you guys off." Shuhei and the others looked kind of disappointed. After all, he taken great care of them during their stay here.

"Damnit, we should at least thank him for the tickets," Ichigo sighed. He hated owing people favors.

"Yes, but what I don't understand is that there five of us, but six tickets," Shuhei pointed out.

"Maybe he got like a special deal or something," Rukia suggested.

"Yes, that's what Americans are know for, great deals," Rachel commented.

"Sorry I am late," Thomas shouted while running towards his friends.

"Where the hell have you been?" Courtney scolded. He quickly met up with the group, panting and out of breath. Everyone noticed that he had a bag with him.

"Sorry I had business to take care of," he answered, not giving any specific details.

"What's with the bag?" Renji questioned.

"Well if it isn't obvious, I am going with you guys," Thomas answered with a smirk on his face. Everyone's face lit up, each with a different expression.

"That's awesome!" Shuhei declared.

"What about school?" Ichigo asked, even though no one really cared.

"Oh I'm in college, I can go to school anywhere I want," he answered.

"Wait, but the other day we went to a high school," Renji pointed out.

"Oh that," Thomas passed it off. "We needed to go to the school to lure out the Crusaders."

"Well if that is the case," Shuhei shrugged, "It must have been part of your mission."

"Bingo," Thomas smirked and turned to face his friends."Well Courtney, I leave the group in your capable hands."

"Thank you, it is a honor," she responded with sarcastic formality.

"Yay!" Rachel cheered, "we get to be an all girl crime fighting team. It would be like Charlie's Angles, only with awesome swords and powers!"

"Wait, what about Corey?" Manikha brought up, but did not have any feeling in her one of voice. "He's dead, are we just going to pretend that didn't happen?"

"Oh that," Thomas sighed. "I don't really care. Let's just say that he died in battle and leave it at that." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well good luck, and keep in touch," Courtney told him. He nodded. A woman's voice came on over the intercom signaling that it was their it was their time to leave. With a final wave off goodbyes, the Japanese reapers plus Thomas left to their plane, leaving the only three female reapers to protect the land.

"Hey Shuhei buddy, " Thomas smirked, "we need to have a little talk."

Final author note:

Well that the end of the story. For now I am going to focus on my neglected One Piece story and college related things. Don't despair however. I left the story open-ended so you the reader can come up with your own ending. I also left it wide open so I can make a sequel. I thought about it and I do want to write one, but right now, I do not have the time. So there a possibility that a sequel is in the work. I may also write a spin off featuring the three remaining reapers, Courtney, Rachel, and Manikha. I felt like I haven't really touched upon their characters enough. Then again, someone else can also write a spin off. So once again, thank you everyone for reading and all the support you provided me.


End file.
